The World Could Be Ours Tonight
by JuHuaTai
Summary: All Ace ever wanted in his life was to prove to his overprotective father and the world that he can be a pirate in his own rights. This long, arduous, and seemingly unfruitful journey was made even more complicated by a pirate from a rival crew that quite literally crashed into his world and refused to leave quietly.
1. Chapter 1

Remember this fic? No?

Well, i actually almost forgot about this fic as a whole as well after deleting it, but then:

1\. Just watched Greatest Showman with my siblings, who are nuts about this movie apparently, and a "*pling!* oh yeah, i remember" moment kinda shine down on me, and;

2\. I recently got a very nice PM from someone over at whose only request was that i kept this thing online until i do decided to update it.

And i will now, i'm sorry for deleting it out of nowhere without any word and i actually do started to find new inspiration for this after re-reading.

So! Thank you all for understanding, for everyone who was asking about this fic's whereabouts i'm so sorry, but here it is again, i will update this and all of my other fics as soon as i'm back from my long vacation.

Enjoy!

* * *

Port Aldeena may be unimposing and wholly inconspicuous, but if such a small area of no importance was suddenly visited for no reason by the Pirate King and his crew, then not only will it attract attention from the resident, it would strike a sudden fear towards the crews and crews of pirates that was there before them, unwilling to be pulled in to whatever catastrophe that will follow Oro Jackson's arrival to the rickety docks.

In a matter of seconds, before the anchor behind the ship has even been fully lowered, at least half of the dock was empty, and by the time the bridge was lowered, the other half was equally empty. The sea's horizon was filled with the sight of ships of all sizes and speed leaving, fleeing away from the possibility of being dragged into the mess that will inevitably happen by the red and gold tinted ship's arrival.

From the shores of the port, Ace watched the ships disembarking in a rush, fleeing the quiet little port town without even looking back.

"You think they realize that sometimes, we just want to stock up and rest instead of looking for trouble? " he heard being said next to him, and without turning already recognizing Sabo's voice.

The young man snorted, and stacked a 3rd large crate on top of the ones he had in front of him before lifting all of them up with little difficulty. The resulting stack was at least twice as tall as him, but he carried them effortlessly from the piers and to the ship's bridge, his sworn brother trailing next to him, "Who cares? It's better than people picking up fights all the time," he said after placing his cargo down once he reached Oro Jackson's deck.

Sabo did the same - though he only carried 1 crate instead of 3 - as a crew member responsible for the shipments approached and after a round of checking, gave them both a thumbs up.

"I thought you liked the fights," the blonde of the pair commented again once the crew member walked away and they walked back down the ship's bridge, "I think i'd prefer one right now instead of doing boring shipment duty like this,"

Ace too, but then, this was a punishment instead of a daily occurrence. After 2 days, Rayleigh finally realized that it had been them who had traded his normal ink bottle with the invisible ink Sabo found in a joke shop down in West Blue, all because Luffy accidentally blurted it out in front of the man himself. For being the whistleblower, albeit on accident, Luffy's punishment had been lighter than theirs and he was to spend the day helping to clean up the storage room.

The lucky little shit.

"Yeah, but it's never fun when you're up against some cocky newcomers. They're so… predictable,"

Sabo snorted, ruffling his hatless hair and tangling his gloved fingers along some knots that has formed under the intense heat, "That's really saying something when it comes from you of all people,"

The blonde didn't even bother to muffle his snickers when Ace hip-checked him in retaliation from the comment.

He ran away after dodging another one, snickering at his dark haired brother's calls and joking growls, and it was in the middle of this exchange did they almost bumped into another figure descending the ship's bridge, black cloak floating behind the man as he sidestepped them with finesse, "Whoa there, boys," Shanks exclaimed, chuckling, "Careful there, you might run to someone,"

Sabo apologized with a sheepish grin, and instead of following his example, Ace watched Benn trailing right behind Shanks. Just right behind the greying tall marksman, he can see Lucky Roo and Yasopp walking by as well, all who were Shanks' trusty subordinate. They were all either cloaked or had their weapons strapped on plain sight to their side, clearly not on their way for a leisure walk, "Are you guys going somewhere?"

Benn let out a puff of smoke at Ace's question before setting his pipe aside, glancing down at him in a way that almost resembled Rayleigh's gaze, if with a bit more intensity and sterness, "Got something to do from the captain,"

"And that is?"

"Got people to look for," he answered curtly, "You know how it goes. Same old, same old,"

'People to look for' would sometimes means informants, or there is an enemy hiding nearby that they need to capture to interrogate or just outright eliminate. The fact that Shanks, one of Roger's trusty generals, was sent out on person means that it was probably the latter, and that it would end up being something a lot more exciting than Benn's tone would suggest. A whole lot more exciting than stacking crates and shipments from the dock to the ship.

Ace opened his mouth, the corner of his lips already tilting out when Benn aimed his next puff of smoke right on his face, making the freckled youth cough at the sudden assault, "Whatever you're about to say, no. You're still grounded, and your dad wants to see you after dinner so he knows you haven't been slacking off,"

"Oh come on—"

"No,"

"Sorry kiddo," the raven haired male was suddenly pulled to the side by an arm latching itself around his shoulder, jostling him slightly before he was up against Shanks' side, "You know i'd help you break the rules any time, but not this time. This is a bit more serious than usual," his grin says otherwise, but then, Shanks hardly ever looked anything but cheerful until the situation calls for it.

It doesn't mean that Ace couldn't hear the finality in his tone, allowing no objection.

As the men climbed down the bridge and be on their way afterwards, next to him, Sabo whistled, scratching his head, "Guess i was wrong, maybe we are here to look for trouble,"

Ace scoffed, still watching the quiet little port town even after Shanks and his entourage made their way deeper into Port Aldeena and disappeared from view, "You mean 'them'. 'We' never get to do anything around here,"

* * *

It wasn't until the age of 6 years old did Ace ever learned that he has a father, and he learned this fact from a suspicious man in red coat who appears out of nowhere to their forest. He defeated Dadan's bandits without even touching them, merely sending a powerful glare that knock them and the three boys off their feet, but before Ace can finish feeling both awe and fear upon the power this man held, he suddenly fell kneeling in front of the boy, stuttering and after a while, crying and sobbing uncontrollably.

Ace had known of the name Gol D. Roger from birth, because Gramps never hid his parentage from him. He knows that the man is the Pirate King, the most dangerous pirate and criminal in all of the seas, and he had been taught from the very second he could understand words that he should never become like him. Nothing good can ever come from being a pirate, the Vice Admiral would always say, and he can be better than that, a lot better.

It was from him and from the patrons in Makino's bar - most of them rookie pirates from a boastful crew - that he began to piece out that his sire is of unimaginable evil and that makes any of his progeny no better. That he should not be proud of the blood running through his veins, and even as he beat them up for disrespecting the man he had never met and probably never would, Ace began to take it to heart, and began to hate the man a little.

But he found it hard to hate Gol D. Roger for long, when in the middle of his incessant tears and gross sobbing, the man approached him, carefully and seemingly almost fearful - why would such a terrifying man felt fear? - and pulled him into a hug.

"My son," he blubbered out, snot and tears running down from his face and to Ace's small shoulder, and while it should've felt disgusting, Ace could hardly care about it. The Pirate King's embrace is warm and inviting, unlike the cold man he was told he would be, and the tears that kept running down shows that he is far from the unfeeling devil he had been described as by most, "It's really you, isn't it? My boy. My dear son, you're really alive,"

Ace had been referred to by a lot of names in the short time he had been alive; The brat, by Garp, Dadan and the bandits, little fucker, by the likes of Bluejam Pirates and other pirates who he defeated and cause trouble for, and many other things that held less than savoury implications. The only positive one he ever earned was 'my brother' from both Sabo and Luffy, a term he would use to described them for years to come and years beyond.

But even being called brother by them felt different from this. They made him feel happy, yes, and they make him feel proud, but Roger made his chest felt constricted and he found it difficult to breathe. Ace never felt this way before, this overwhelming, unexplained feeling that seems to erupt beyond what his little chest can contain, and the only way he could express himself was by letting as much tears comes out of his eyes, let himself sob loudly, even louder than Roger himself.

"I hate you," he told the man, feeling the arms around him tightening their hold, this comforting hold that he never knew could exist in this world and not something he could ever truly hate, "You're a bad guy, everyone said so. And they hate me too because of you,"

Roger held him close, even closer, almost making Ace drown in his much more massive body. He held the back of his head, stroking his hair lovingly, the hair of the same colour as the red-clad Pirate King, "I'm sorry," he whispered, so deeply and meaningful, "I'm so sorry for not finding you earlier and letting you be exposed to such horrible things,"

Ace would repeatedly told him that he hated him, again and again, because that was the only thing he knows how to say to his father.

"Let me make it up to you, Ace, let me make it up for as long as i live," he said later, after Ace was out of breathe and out of tears, "You may have the world against you, so i will give you my world, a world where you will never be casted out, where you will always belong," he offered his hand then, so big and strong, so calloused no doubt from the many infamy he had spread, from all of the battles that brought him to the top and make the world hates him.

Yet despite the weight of those hands, they held Ace's smaller ones gently, cradling in a loving way a father would their child, "What do you say?"

Ace took his hand, and he never once looked back.

Well, most of the time.

"Absolutely not!" The tips of Roger's handlebar moustache seems to bounce along with the appearance of the frown on his face and the downturn of his lips, "My dear boy, i know you crave excitement after your grounding - totally your fault, by the way, for messing with Ray - but i'm afraid not this time. We're hunting down a real son of a bitch and there is absolutely no way i'm getting you involved in that,"

"You never let me get involved with anything!"

"And that is because we're up against a lot of sons of bitches out there, my sweet child, and i don't want you getting hurt!"

Ace groaned, a long and guttural sound that was ripped out of his throat and imbued with years of unresolved teenage rebellion, adulthood exasperation, and the fact that they're back to this old argument again, "Dad, i'm a pirate! Getting hurt is in the job description!"

Roger looked horrified, slapping a hand on his chest in outrage, "Ack, no, it is not! Who told you that?! Why i oughta—"

"And i'm 18, i'm old enough to take care of myself both in battles and in life,"

"My little cherub, 18 is nowhere near old enough for anything, much less to handle life,"

"Yes, it is! I know it is, if you'd just let me prove myself!"

To Gol D. Roger, apparently having his 'sons' going to their own explorations was the worst thing that can ever happen. Ace lost count the amount of fights and raids he missed out on because he was still 'too young' to join in, and would be confined to ship guarding duty or something equally boring. If a battle was indeed inevitable, then it didn't matter that he'd win most of the time, he'd spend days afterwards either being lectured to 'leave it all to Daddy' and coddled like a child.

And that was incredibly ridiculous, especially the older he got. His bounty of 500 million belli may be nothing compared to his father but it was a hell lot more than even some of the oldest crews, and that should've shown that he had grown and could handle his own in a fight. He had his own fame and built his own reputation for infamy during those rare moments he managed to slip out under Roger's gaze - or when Rayleigh decided to be generous and looked the other way around - and not a year ago, he even gained his logia power, a power that made him a lot stronger than he already was.

It even earned him the moniker 'Fire Fist Ace', and the pride that swells in his chest the first time someone referred to him as that instead of 'Roger's kid' was immense.

Roger had said he was proud of him, but that happened in a single sentence in the middle of scolding him for carelessly eating unknown fruits and while blubbering and sobbing about what would he do if he lost his child to food poisoning. The fact that a reporter caught that moment in the middle of doing a report about Ace's first exploit as a logia user made him wonder not for the first time how anyone, friends and foes alike, can still hold so much fear and respect for the Pirate King when he often acted so embarrassingly.

Just like now, as he rounded the table and approached a fuming Ace with no sense of self-preservation - but then, he's sure that if he's to take his dad on a fight, Ace would begrudgingly admit Roger will win - framing his face with both hands to draw out a small pout on the young man's face. Ace hated it when he does that, but by now, he knows that resistance is futile, "Oh, my sweet little fire, you don't need to prove anything to me or anyone! We know you're smart and strong, you're my boy, you'll always be exceptional,"

"Then let me go with Shanks! I'm sick of not being allowed to do anything," Ace hissed, trying to squirm away from his father's hold but to no avail, "I'm also a part of the Roger Pirates, i want to pull my own weight around here,"

"But you have, my will-o-wisp, you have! You, Sabo and Luffy are indispensable to all of us! I saw the reports this morning, the storage has never been cleaner and we were done with shipment duties faster than usual,"

"You know i don't mean just that!"

In the end, of course Roger will still say no, and their argument would've gone tediously long if Shanks and Rayleigh hadn't knocked on the door to remind Roger of their business. He was shooed away - like a child, he bitterly noted - but Ace lingered long enough by the door to overhear that Shanks and his team had failed in locating the man they had been searching for.

* * *

"This is a very bad idea,"

Ace sent a glower to Sabo, both telling him to keep it down and because of what he just said. The blonde got the message easily, sighing as he fiddled with the ever trusty steel pipe strapped to his back, walking just a step behind Luffy, who hadn't stopped looking around the small alleyway they had gone into.

It wasn't until 5 more minutes later that Sabo spoke again however, shaking his head, "No, sorry, this really is a bad idea," this time he ignored Ace's glare, though he does lowered his volume, "Ace, we don't even know who we're looking for!"

"Stop being pessimistic," the dark haired logia scolded, pulling Luffy by the back of his shirt when he began to walk too fast ahead of them, "It's gotta be a dangerous pirate or something, Dad doesn't send Shanks out just for about anything,"

"But whoever it is managed to escape Shanks and his people, what are the chance we're going to be able to catch them? And what even are the chances we can defeat them?"

"Of course we can, Sabo!" Luffy snickered from between them, voice so loud the other two spontaneously shushed him up, "Come on, it's the three of us, we never lose when there's the three of us!"

Ace grinned, pulling Luffy into a backward hug and making the 15 years old giggle out his name, "That's my optimistic brother," still grinning, he shifted his gaze to Sabo, who merely rolled his eyes, "While you, pessimistic brother, need to stop being so pessimistic,"

"I'm the realistic brother, thank you very much," the blonde sniffed, "And that makes you the reckless and kinda stupid brother,"

"Hey!"

Their little ribbing continues on as they kept walking, calling out which adjective they think would suit which brother in jest. People hardly associated such young children with the fearsome pirates that arrived earlier that day, but they gave them an even wider berth the moment some caught sight of the giant tattoo on Ace's back, Roger Pirates' jolly roger stark on naked and unblemished skin.

As the time passes slowly but surely, the streets had gone emptier and emptier, and before long, the trio found that they were the only ones left even on the main road, with most of the stalls and shops being closed and not a single soul to be seen as far as their eyes can see.

"If we stay here any longer," Luffy murmured with slight concern, "They might figure out we're not on the ship and ground us again,"

Sabo hummed next to him, glancing back to the road that they took to get this far. They hardly explored the entirety of the town, but they had gone quite far away, and going back might take a while. Oro Jackson was no longer in sight as well, signalling that they've reached far, far away from the docks, "Think we should go back then? Continue this tomorrow? It's probably going to be easier to with more lights,"

Which made sense, but at the same time, there is no telling that tomorrow they'd be able to sneak out as easily again. And there is also no telling that the man they're hunting for is not still on the island by tomorrow, which not only would mean they'd lose him, but also that Ace would lose this rare chance to be able to show his father what he can do, "I got a better idea," he told the other two, noting the branching path ahead of them, some leading through a series of residence and the others going down to other alleys, "We can split up and cover more grounds,"

He barely finished saying it when Sabo, the killjoy shook his head rapidly, "Oh no, no splitting up. The three of us together, yeah, i still can accept, but splitting up? No, not an option, Ace,"

"Why not?"

"Because splitting up especially in a place where we have absolutely no idea about the layout means if one of us do find the guy we're looking for, we then have to find the others and there's no telling the man won't run away then, it's very inefficient," he raised a finger when Ace opened his mouth, "And no, we are not taking him alone. Remember, Roger sent out _Shanks with backup_ to deal with this guy, there is no way we can beat him on our own,"

Ace knows he's right, but at the same time, he can't go back right now. They've gone this far already.

So he turned on his heels, and ran.

"Ace!"

"You guys can go back first!" he shouted, foot draping fast on the gravelling ground, "I'm just going to find where this guy is and i promise i'll go back!"

"Ace, wait, no!"

But whatever else Sabo shouted died down as he sprinted even faster. He needs to go back with something, something to show that he's not only good as some deck hand to his father. If he can find the man they're looking for when even one of his father's trusted generals can't, then that's a big start.

It was odd just how quiet the entire town had gone from the hustle and bustle that was around just hours ago. Almost eerily so, because by the time Ace started feeling winded by running and slowed down to catch his breath, he still hadn't seen a single soul roaming about. No patrols, no late night shop or tavern, nothing. It's like the entire place died down along with the sun's descend.

"Don't tell me the target fell asleep too?" he murmured to himself, glancing between two narrow street and trying to shake off the nervousness that are starting to climb up to his spine. It was suddenly so quiet here without his brothers around, and while he had nothing against the dark - he can light himself on fire, he really had no problem with the dark - it just added to the creepy factor on this entire town.

As he walked, briefly contemplating the way back and finding himself struggling with remembering the correct way, he suddenly felt a chill on his back. Someone is around and following him.

"Who's there?" he called out, spinning on his heels. No one was around, not even a single suspiciously casted shadow, but he still can't shake off the feeling in the pit of his stomach, "Sabo? Luffy? Did you guys follow me here?"

Still no answer.

Ignoring the increasingly audible beating on his chest, Ace lit up one hand on fire, both to illuminated his surrounding and to show whoever it is that he's not as harmless as they might thought he is. He turned around again, swiftly and in a calculated move, making sure that he won't be caught off guard. Could it be that the one following him was the person he's been looking for? Maybe they know that they're being chased by Roger Pirates and saw the tattoo on his back; a lot of people certainly were staring at him earlier.

The raven haired male was about to make another step, preparing to walk away and see if he can draw the person out when out from the corner of his eyes, he saw one of the shadow moved, and then suddenly, before he could even react, there's a glint of blade making its way to him in the speed of light. Ace lit up his hand, not even worried about the sword aiming for him as a logia.

But suddenly, before he can lit whoever it is on fire, his surrounding suddenly became a lot brighter, like a burst of flame that wasn't his own had exploded out of nowhere. He yelped, startled and dazed, hearing a harsh crunch somewhere in front of him followed by a grunt from around the same area.

From behind his close eyelids, Ace could catch the moment when the sudden flare died down, meaning that it is safe for him to open his eyes again, and when he did, he found that he was no longer alone.

On the ground, choking wetly and bleeding profusely was a man in dark cloak, a sword lying limply on one hand, while the other was holding onto the honest to god _talons_ that pierced his chest in three separates places. The talon was connected to a very human like thighs from someone who is very much a human, with hair spun golden, eyes drooped in a bored expression, and from his arms rose flames not unlike his, in the colour of morning sky instead of the sunset.

Ace felt awed for a moment, watching how blue flames breeze through golden tresses and speechless under the cool blue orbs that locked into his own. The man lifted his head then, giving him a lopsided smile, "I was wondering why the town was so quiet all of the sudden," he said, his voice light and playful, the soft timbre making Ace's chest stutter briefly, "Pretty bold of you to be here at this time of the night on your own, and with that mark on your back,"

He straightened his posture then, allowing the open and unzipped purple shirt to reveal chiseled stomach muscles and a tattoo nearly as big as his etched across broad chest, one that the moment he recognize it, made Ace's stomach fell into a cold pit. The young logia took in the sight of blue flames once more, to the talon, to the mark and finally to the man's still smiling face, now a lot more familiar and bear resemblance to a wanted poster he saw from months ago on Rayleigh's office, one of the very few who held a frightening amount of price on their head.

Ace felt his chest stutter again, and this time, he knows it comes from wariness, "You're one of the Whitebeard Pirates," he hissed out the name of his father's rival crew, "Marco the Phoenix,"

Marco gave him a lazy grin that looked far too innocent. He ground his talon down, pushing against the dying man's wounds and finally killing him with a sad little gasp. Without even looking at the body, he then bowed a little, almost in a mockery of the formal gesture, "At your service," Even in the shadows casted by the buildings around them, Ace could see his eyes twinkling in an amused way, as if Ace's obvious dislike was entertaining to him, "Fire Fist Ace of the Roger Pirates,"

* * *

Things i know will be the hardest part about this fic: Coming up with more and more ridiculous nickname from Roger to Ace.

I'm a sucker for Roger being alive and still running Roger Pirates, for Ace and Roger having a good relationship (kinda), or Rayleigh being in these kids life, and many more.

I was a bit unsure about posting this story tbh, because this will be really full of headcanons, but thank you so much for the comments so far that encourage me to show those headcanons so i'm sharing it with you now! I really hope you don't mind them!

Thank you so much for reading and i hope you liked it! Please tell me what you think so far!


	2. Chapter 2

Hope you'd enjoy!

* * *

The strongest man in the world, the Pirate King's rival, the man who can shake the earth. These were the examples of the names that were associated with Edward Newgate, more known by the name Whitebeard, and the captain of Whitebeard Pirates.

Ace had never seen him in person, but he had heard of stories about the man and his battles with Roger, how their fight could destroy an entire island and take out an entire ecosystem and part of the sea. One of the _Yonkos,_ the 4 most infamous pirates in the New World - including the Pirate King - he was the closest in terms of power and exploit to the Roger himself, with the only reason Roger coming on top being the discovery of the ever mysterious land of Raftel and the great treasure of One Piece.

(He was Roger's biggest rival and threat, and yet from the way Rayleigh tells it, he was also the one his father respected the most our of every other pirates. Though it doesn't mean that they won't be wary of him and his crew, if there is a genuine lesson his father ever taught him, is that one can be your biggest enemy and can still earn your respect)

Under Whitebeard's command were a large amount of men split into 16 division, all of them who were loyal to a fault towards their captain. A few in particular stood out, especially the commanders of those 16 divisions, known to be some of the most powerful men even on New World, and this person in front of him right now, with that infuriating smile, light gaze and disarming posture was the strongest, and most notorious amongst them all.

It made sense now why Shanks and the others were sent out for a little port town like this, and why both him and his dad forbids him from coming along. They're hunting down Whitebeard's right hand man, after all, and while he was no Whitebeard, he was still dangerous on his own rights. Even Ace, in all of his recklessness against unknown enemy can tell, and right now, Marco's eyes and entire attention are zeroed in on him.

Ace never flees from a fight, but right now, he's pretty sure it's more about whether or not he _can_ flee.

Marco the Phoenix chuckled lightly, "Now what's with that look, hm?" he asked, removing his talons from on top of the now dead man's mangled body and let it transform back into a human leg with a burst of blue flame, "I did just save you, you know, there's no need to—"

To avoid being attacked, he has to attack first; it was something Ace learned as a method of survival, and it had never failed him before. The palm sized fireball that he managed to produce in the short time the man had been talking sailed through the air and towards its target, exploding right on his face and should've distracted him well enough to allow Ace to turn around and make his escape.

He didn't get very far away, when there was a suddenly gust of wind behind his back and he found himself slammed against a wall, both hands held up high by his wrists and a larger body between his legs, effectively trapping him.

In reflex, Ace lit his entire body on fire in hopes to deter the blonde off from him, but the heavy weight over him didn't falter and the hand holding his wrists only held on tighter. Through the raging blaze, another engulfed him, cool like the breeze from a spring wind, "Impressive, but i'm afraid that doesn't work on me," a voice broke through his quiet burning, a calm and still infuriatingly amused face so close to his partially framed by blue wisps of fire. A fire that defeated his own, healing faster than his could harm.

He didn't relent, increasing the intensity of the fire surrounding him in hope that at one point he'll heat up enough to push him away. Marco's eyes lit up, almost like he wanted to laugh mockingly at him, and Ace tried so hard to kept focusing on his determination to get this man off from him and not to the sight of their mingled flames, a reminiscence of twilight skies, with the shadows around them as the remaining brushing of dusk that was slowly chased away by their lights.

All of the sudden, Marco's expression changed, slowly losing the amused edge on his face. Ace was just about to celebrate in his persistence and especially as the hands around his wrist began to go slack, yet instead of jumping away from him, the older man grabbed one of his hands and pushed him to a small alleyway, smaller than the one they had been standing on. Startled, Ace lost his concentration and his fire died down, leaving the entire road unlit once more.

Ace wanted to protest and struggle some more, but he was pushed once again against the wall, a hand clamped over his mouth in such force it hurts. He didn't have time to be angry when Marco shushed him, his voice so close to his ears that he can feel the breath that came out with the gesture against his nape and ear, "Don't make a noise," the man murmured, pressing even more against him, "They're here,"

Who, he wanted to ask, and if he could ask. As it is, however, the fire logia felt his chest stuttering and his breath hitching when he can feel Marco's body heat against his own, naked chest against partially naked chest.

The sound of hurried footsteps entered his hearing, immediately making him stiffen for a very different reason. He could hear men - plenty of them, in fact - approaching to where they were hiding, and as soon as they stopped near where Ace would've guess they had been earlier, he heard cursing and outrage, "That fucking bastard must've been the one who did this!" a man said with an angry growl, followed with a murmur of agreement, just as equally incensed, "Shit, i told Presto this plan won't work, what the hell was he thinking?! Now we got both Roger and Whitebeard up our asses, and Whitebeard is a no show! He sent his fucking parrot at us instead!"

There's a grunt right next to Ace's ear, clearly a muffled sound of displeasure, and even in the current situation, he can't help but snort at the fact that apparently, Marco the Phoenix hated being referred to as any other avian type.

Marco lifted his head, putting himself back to Ace's periphery with one eyebrow raised. Ace bit his lower lips, a gesture that the man obviously felt, but did little to hide his own amusement, even narrowing his eyes, daring Marco to forbid him to find humour at those men's words. Ha, serves him right. He should've been glad that it's very obvious that they cannot get caught by these men or else, Ace would've implemented Luffy's ingenious escaping tactic and lick his palm to have the blonde let him go.

"We better report this to the boss so we can plan our next move soon," another voice murmured, a lot more nervous than the angry voice before, "The guys saw Red Haired Shanks patrolling around the area earlier, and that mark on Cisco's body could only mean Marco the Phoenix got to him. We're doomed if we got ambushed by both,"

"He's still warm, one of them has got to be close by,"

"Hey, check this out,"

As the footsteps moved even closer to their hiding spot, Ace felt himself tensing along. In front of him, Marco was staring at the alley's entrance, eyes fully focused and patient. Why he didn't attack these men like they thought he would was beyond him, but it's getting harder to breathe right now with how hard the man was pressing against the lower part of his face.

"What's that? Burn marks?"

"It is, mighty big too. What about it?"

"It's new, that's what. Did the patrol guys also said they saw some kids walking around town with Roger's tattoo on his back?" he heard some rustling of cloths, and from the entrance of the alley, Ace can see the men's shadow shuffling about, getting closer to where they hid, "Roger's kid a fire logia, he must've been sent out too. As if our problem isn't big enough right now,"

Another man scoffed, and even though Ace felt like doing the same - him, being allowed to get involved in anything as exciting as this? Joke of the century - the urge died down the moment he heard what the man said, "That kid? Yeah right, as if anyone didn't know he got that bounty because he's daddy's little princess," the man let out an insulting bark of laughter, "Probably got his devil fruit for a birthday present or some crap like that. Precious darling 'Prince of Pirates' probably didn't know the first thing about fighting,"

Different men in that group voiced something else, but whether they were agreeing or disagreeing for him Ace couldn't tell on account of all voices being muffled by the sound of his own blood rushing to his ears. He knows there are people who still think that, who thinks he's nothing more than his dad's tailcoat rider and thought of him as sheltered because of how well known Roger's type of parenting was. It slowly died down lately, after he showed himself capable, but every time he comes across someone who was ignorant of this, he can't help but wanting to show them.

And show them he will indeed.

With flaming hands, Ace pushed Marco away - and the man was obviously distracted enough that he can do this - before running towards the moth of the alley way, arms already forming a massive ball of flames on both sides by the time he jumped out and surprised them. He saw one of the man, a burly one with an ugly sneer became as shocked as the rest of them, and as he pulled one of his fist back, preparing to launch the move that earned him his nickname, Ace growled, "Think again, asswipe,"

With a single blow, fire burst with so much intensity that they covered an entire 3 blocks, burning everything that wasn't a stone or metal structure on its path. The screech of terror and the smell of burning flesh was incredibly satisfying, and even more when he finally let his fire died down seconds later and saw nothing but charred remains on the floor, including the one man who had invoked his wrath in the first place, all of them barely distinguishable from the ashen ground that marks where his fire had been before.

Ace grinned smugly, but the pride didn't last long when he suddenly heard noises coming from all different directions, the sound of men alerting one another and the unmistakable sound of approaching footsteps, even more than the group he had just killed.

Before he can react, he was yanked back by his upper arm, and turned around to see Marco looking at the direction where the noises came from with a frown, before tightening his grip. When the sound of approaching army became closer, Ace lit up his other free arm, planning to execute yet another burst of fire to take care of them when said arm was also grabbed and pulled back, effectively trapping him, "Let me go!"

"No," he was yanked back again, this time none too gently, and Marco's voice held a hint of impatience, "Don't kill them off,"

"Don't tell me what to do! Let me go!"

His struggle, once again, was in vain, when Marco seems unbothered by the massive flame on his arms and kept holding on with a grip harder than steel. Soon, the men from earlier gathered, at least 5 times more than the group he just dealt with, all with their weapons drawn and approaching from all different sides. They're surrounded.

Not that it means anything, Ace thought, gritting his teeth at the sneers and cocky faces around him, as if they thought they had him trapped. He doesn't even need his hands, all he had to do was just lit up his legs and make the ground burn—

"Hold on tight,"

"Wha— Aah!"

But before he can commence with his idea, without warning, the freckled youth was spun around and had his previously bound arms looped around muscled shoulders. He didn't even have time to react when blue flames once again rose around him, and he was airborne. So surprised by this outcome, Ace held on tighter, yelping in panic and clambering up against a solid form that does not feel like they belong to a human any longer.

And rightfully so, because he turned to find a beak attached to a bird-like head instead of a human's face, ringed eyes glancing at him with the same half lidded look that Marco perpetually had on as they glided over even the town's tallest building. The Phoenix suddenly dived down, ripping another gasp from Ace at the abrupt plummeting and churning in his stomach and when he opened his eyes again, panting heavily, the young pirate found himself laying on his front on the bird's back, still holding on to slender neck as tightly as he could.

He wanted to shout, berating the zoan for scaring him like that but the moment he opened his eyes, Ace can't help but feel amazed by the sensation of flying. Strong wind was blowing against his face, the sight around him had changed from the alleyway and the men who had trapped them to the starry night sky and he could even see Oro Jackson on the distance.

"Wow," he muttered low under his breath, unable to hold it back.

The avian form beneath him quivers, followed by a melodious chortling sound, vibrating nearby and it took him a while to realize that the Phoenix - well, Marco - was laughing. The dark haired logia could feel his face reddening at being caught, throwing his face away from the face at the end of the long neck that had craned backward to meet his, "Shut up,"

After a while, they slowly descended down, until they landed on top of a flat roof of what seems to be a residential building. As soon as his feet touched the ground, Ace rounded Marco, mid transformation and hissed, "I could've taken them,"

"I know you could," the blonde man said, and unlike before, there wasn't a trace of amusement or signs that he was only humouring Ace. He's not sure if that's a good sign or not, but at the very least, his slowly flaring temper was not provoked further and that's enough for him right now, "But then that'll be 2 days worth of recon out of the window for me, and i can't have that,"

"Recon?"

"Reconnaissance, you know, observation," the teasing tone was back, and to show that he did not appreciate the humour, Ace crossed his arms and scowled deeply. Marco only chuckled at his reaction, and at that point, whatever good graces he may have had with Ace was gone. If he realized that, he doesn't seem to care, the amusement back on his eyes and tone, "Long story short, they're pirates, they took something from my captain, i'm here to take it back. I know they're based somewhere on the edge of the town, near the forest lines, but there's no guarantee they also kept the item i need there as well,"

Ace wasn't really expecting him to share that, but now that he did, he can't help but comment, "Well, why don't you just take one of them and have them spit it out? Pretty sure since they're already so scared of you, they'd talk,"

Why is he even exchanging this near civil conversation? It's not like Marco's holding him hostage or anything, he can just leave now and tell Shanks and his dad that he found the guy they're looking for. So he can't take credit for defeating Marco but that had been why he was out here in the first place. If he run fast enough, he should be able to reach Oro Jackson before the zoan caught him again.

But then, he knew now that it won't be that easy to escape from him.

Marco laughed again, light and almost condescending, "Good idea, but sadly, brute force is… not my thing,"

"Said the guy who killed a man by skewering him with talons," Ace scoffed.

"May i remind you that it was to help you?"

"I don't need your help," the younger replied bitingly, his frown deepening and volume rising, "I could take care of him just fine, he was close enough that i can burn him,"

"And you were close enough he could stab you with his sword,"

"I'm a logia,"

Marco took a step closer, and despite his posturing, Ace found himself taking a step back in return. He did not like the smiles and laughter directed at him, but Ace found that he disliked the serious and almost stern expression on Marco's face even more. It reminded him that he had spent the last few seconds talking to one of the strongest men in New World, and if Marco took offense in anything he said, then right now, there's no one around to help him, "Logias can't deflect swords encased with seastone gems," he said gravely, "And based on what i saw earlier, he would've put it straight through you before you can finish burning his sleeve,"

Ace fell silent, unable to think of a rebuttal. He crossed his arms even further, almost hugging himself and threw his face away from facing Marco.

In the silence that ensues, he heard Marco sighed, "This is as close as i can get without being spotted by any of your crew member," he said finally, "And we should be far enough not to get pursued. Head back to your ship and g—"

"There they are!"

Almost simultaneously, the two of them turned to where the voice had come from, somewhere on the grounds underneath where the roof they had been standing on. And not just on the grounds, there are multitude more of them approaching, some already climbing to the rooftops, and there are far more of them than there had been on the alley before.

A familiar hand grabbed his upper arm again, making the younger turn to see grave blue eyes looking down at him, "Jump over to the rooftop on your left and once you reached the grounds, you'll find an alley with several abandoned carts. Just keep running through that, take every right turns and you'll be back on the docks without any of them spotting you. It'll be too dark for any of them to see so don't fight, don't use your fire, and you'll be fine,"

Ace wanted to tell him that he doesn't want to flee, but the urgency in Marco's voice made him falter, and he found himself nodding, "What about you?"

"Don't worry about me, i'm going to distract the— Ggh!"

A distant and familiar sound of gunshot was heard and Marco lurched forward all of the sudden, almost bumping to Ace. When the older man's hand immediately flew down to his waist, with wide eyes, Ace watched as red began to seep through the blue fabric of the man's belt and the trimming of his pants, injuring him in a way that not even his fire had been able to earlier.

Seastone, his mind shouted at him, remembering what Marco had told him earlier as well. These guys chasing after them has seastones at their disposal.

Another gunshot was heard again and Marco's knees buckled, which would've sent him falling down if he hadn't been holding on to Ace's arm and if Ace had been too slow in catching him, "Marco!" he called out in panic, trying to help the blonde to stand up only to be pushed away and was left staggering backward.

"Don't worry about me," the zoan hissed, gesturing with his chin to the direction of the other rooftop near them, "I'll be fine. Leave, take the route that i told you to and keep running until you reached the docks. Don't even think about fighting back, there's too many of them," when Ace was still rooted on the ground, unsure, he frowned and barked loud enough to pierce through the sound of distantly approaching pursuers, "Go!"

Ace ran without looking back, down the rooftop, to the grounds and before long, finding the alley way that he was supposed to go through. No one was around, just as Marco said, and he could see the alley that he was supposed to take and could even see parts of the docks. All he needed to do was run through it and Oro Jackson would be there, a safe haven, and he can tell his father about his discovery like he had planned to.

But instead of doing so, he turned at the sound of rising commotion behind him, glancing up to the rooftop where he had been a while ago. He watched, vision partially hidden by the edge of the flat roof as three men held down Marco, who barely seemed to fight back, when a fourth approached and suddenly whacked him on the side of the head, so hard that even from where he was, Ace could hear the sickening crack sound of metal meeting bone.

Marco fell, disappearing out of his vision, and Ace felt his stomach churning.

"That was easier than expected," one of the men said, voice distant but still audible enough in the night's silence, "That's also one problem down, at least. The boss wants us to take him back to the hideout, so get to it. We already made too much noise tonight, if Roger Pirates caught us too, then we'd really be in trouble,"

As the men began to leave one by one, with heavy feet and even heavier heart that he ran as fast as he could back to Oro Jackson.

* * *

He wasn't even surprised to see that Roger was waiting in his, Luffy and Sabo's bedroom, arms crossed and face red in anger and worry. Behind him, Sabo and Luffy knelt down with Rayleigh standing next to them, both wearing a sheepish expression and obviously having received scolding and berating, and both winced when Ace entered the room in a hurry and he shouted, "Where have you been the whole night, young man?!"

Roger was rarely angry at them, and the times when he did, the three of them would take it seriously. But right now, Ace couldn't find it in himself to muster a smidgen of regret for being found out for sneaking out of the ship as he hurriedly blurted out with wide eyes full of urgency, "I found him!"

The captain frowned, sharing a look with his first mate, "Found who?"

"The guy you're looking for," he said in a rush, heart still beating fast inside of his chest, "I found him and he—"

He saved him, he got captured by another group of pirates because of him, and now, even though Marco is his father's rival's men and therefore an enemy, Ace couldn't leave him like that. His conscience wouldn't let him, not when the sight of Marco's falling body after his head was struck kept playing over and over in his mind all the way here. Marco, who distracted those men long enough that he could escape, who killed the man who almost killed him…

Ace may be a pirate, but he's one who knows how to repay his debts, damnit. Even to his enemies.

His train of thought was interrupted as he was pulled into a bone-cracking hug, "Oh, my little brave and reckless ray of sunshine, why would you risk that?! I told you, it's dangerous! Why do you never listen to me, Ace? I was so worried,"

"Dad—"

His protest was stopped by the sloppy kisses peppered all over his face, Roger's moustache tickling and scratching all over his skin, "You have to promise me you'd never do this again, Ace, my fiery baby lapin, if anything were to happen to the three of you, my three colourful and lively jellybeans, i'd be absolutely devastated, i won't know what to do with myself,"

"Dad, he—"

"The Dagroot Pirates are dangerous and there's many of them, i don't want you to ever go near them and yet you still go and found where they're hiding, i don't know if i should be angry or—"

"Wait," with wide eyes, Ace pushed his father away, just enough that he could look at him in the eyes, "Who?"

Roger looked briefly confused, as he spoke, "Why, the men i had Shanks looking for in this port town, the Dagroot Pirates. We had some unfinished business with them, and they are extremely dangerous, too dangerous for three little boys to take on their own,"

He began to launch into a story about a kingdom three islands away, whose king was a good friend and ally to the Roger Pirates. Said king was assassinated 3 nights ago, leaving the kingdom in chaos and sparking an internal civil war amongst the nobles for the throne's succession, while the king's son, the rightful heir and prince had used the chance to immediately contact Roger about the situation.

But instead of requesting for assistance in winning the war to gain the throne that was rightfully his, the prince had instead asked the Roger pirates to hunt down the pirate crew who had a hand in his father's murder, the same pirate crew who had gained notoriety as of the late in purposefully attacking territories belonging to other pirates. What their end goal is, no one knows quite yet, but every pirate crew jealously protected their territories and it was with this determination did they ended up docking here, where the pirates were last seen.

In other words, Ace was woefully mistaken.

Marco the Phoenix was _not_ the one his dad had been looking for.

* * *

*Narrator voice* It was at this moment that she knew, she doesn't have any fucking idea how to write a slow-burn.

In my defence about the whole flying thing though, i watched Howl's moving castle during break and while writing this. it just kinda stuck around in my head now.

Thank you so much for reading and for all of your kind words, i'm so glad you also liked this new story! Updates may be shorter than usual due to irl and i want to keep my semi-regular updates, but we'll see how that goes.

Let me know what you think and i hoped you liked it!


	3. Chapter 3

WARNING: Violence, mentions of gore and blood.

I mean, in a way, while the canon series are pretty 'tame' on their portrayal on pirate life, you know there's plenty of gratuitous killing on the background. It's inevitable in a way, you know?

Anyway, kind of a longish one right here, so i hope you'd enjoy!

* * *

A plan to attack was formed that dawn, and of course Roger strongly forbid the three of them from joining.

"Though you've done great work for us, my little twinkle star, but absolutely not, you are not going to come with us, none of you will," Roger had told them sternly whilst pinching and squeezing Ace's cheeks, despite the young man's struggle and protest, "I will deal with you about the sneaking out later after we get back, don't make me ground you three again,"

So as the sun rose from the horizon, Ace stood on top of the ship's deck, watching as his father lead the charge towards the location he has given them and disappear within the underbelly of the yet awake town.

"I have to go there too,"

"You're not going anywhere," Sabo's exasperated voice immediately replied, sighing, "Look, Ace, it's good enough that Roger's not going to punish us for sneaking out because you somehow found a vital information in the span of… an hour or so after you disappear on us," the scarred blonde narrowed his eyes, staring accusingly, "Which is kind of shitty of you, by the way, Luffy and i had to go back and face his wrath, and then deal with him worrying over you. You know Roger is not easy to handle when he's worried,"

On Ace's other side, Luffy nodded rapidly, framing his cheeks with a grimace, "He kept using my face as a stress ball. I might be rubber, but it still hurts,"

Sabo nodded sympathetically at him, "Besides, you already got what you wanted. You found the guys they're after and you even found where they're hiding. Plus, you got Roger to praise you for that, let's not push our luck here,"

"But i didn't!" Ace exclaimed, gaining the attention of the remaining crew members on the deck, all who the three of them knew were keeping close eyes on them. The logia clicked his tongue and pulled both of his brothers by their shirt, away from the bridge and towards a more secluded area of the deck, "I didn't find the right guy at all. It was a huge misunderstanding, i thought he was the one dad was after, but he's not. He's here to hunt down a pirate crew, most likely the same one dad's after and he was the one who told me where their hideout was,"

Sabo blinked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "Okay," he drawled out, "Well, you got it one way or another, so why does it matter—"

"It mattered because he's caught by those pirates so i can escape when those pirates were chasing us!" the oldest amongst the three hissed, "And i… i can't leave it at that, okay?"

He thought he finally got through to Sabo when his blonde brother kept quiet, mouth partially gaping. But then his eyes and mouth open wide and Ace knew he didn't, " _You got chased—_ "

"Shh! Not so loud!"

"—sorry," Indeed, Sabo lowered his volume back to a whisper, but the intensity of his incoming scolding remained the same, "You got chased by pirates?! Ace, you could've been caught!"

Ace rolled his eyes, "Oh wow, i didn't realize, Sab', thanks for telling me," he scoffed at the blonde's mildly offended look, before shaking his head, "Look, you're missing the point. Someone's in trouble because of me, and i have to save him before anything could've happened,"

The last image he had of Marco had been haunting him the entire night, which had fuelled his insistence to join Roger this morning. But if there's anyone in the world who could out-stubborn him was his own father, and it was to the threat of having them basically locked up in their room with guards that finally made him relent.

For appearance sake, that is.

Because if they have guards on them, it'd be difficult to do this.

"You owe us so fucking much,"

Ace paused from taking a step back from their preparation, taking in the very contrasting sight of Luffy's gleeful expression to Sabo's completely tortured one. He had Luffy's thin waist held back with both his arms and legs stretched all the way from where they were tied around the quarterdeck's mast, forming a makeshift catapult while Sabo was only a couple of feet away from him, standing all too stiffly with his back to them and head partially turned.

They had done this all too often back when they were younger, as a mean to divert everyone else's attention. Either Sabo or Ace will launch the other one using Luffy's Devil Fruit ability to the seas, before slipping away to commence with whatever practical trick they had in mind, using the time while everyone would be too busy searching the waters for the brother that got launched and trying to untangle their youngest brother from where his limbs were tied to.

It was incredibly juvenile, potentially dangerous and people began to pick up to what they're doing after a few months in so they hadn't done this for years now. If they're to do this again at this age, at least it is for a mean much nobler than pulling a childish prank.

The eldest of the three grinned, "I know, you guys are the best brothers anyone could ever ask for,"

Luffy stretched his neck back so he can bump his head affectionately to Ace's own, and from afar, though his expression was still woeful and resigned, Ace could see that Sabo had smiled at his answer before he turned back and let out a loud huff, "Fine, just do it quickly and painlessly,"

Ace huffed at his dramatic attitude, but did so nonetheless. With a heave, the logia pulled his brother's body back a fraction, and let it go to let physics does its work.

"Did someone scream just now?"

"Holy crap, that's a big ass bird— Wait, is that Sabo?!"

"Luffy, what the hell did you do to your brother?!"

"Oh my god, Sabo got thrown off the water! Someone get the lifeboat down!"

"What the hell are you three up to now?! I thought you kids are too old for this shit!"

"Wait, that's only two of them…where's Ace?!"

"Don't tell me he got thrown off too, he's a devil fruit user! Roger's going to kill us!"

The flurry of chaos happened just as expected, and by the time everybody realized that the third brother was missing, Ace was already halfway across the dock, running through the winding streets of Port Aldeena.

* * *

The thing is, Ace wasn't just worried about Marco's fate in the hands of those pirates from last night, he was also worried about what would happen if Roger ever found out he was here in the first place. Roger and Whitebeard often ended their fights in a stalemate, and they hadn't been actively pursuing and devising plans to defeat each other, but then all _Yonko_ tend to keep from each other's way unless a golden opportunity present themselves. And if Roger ever found that his biggest rival's First Mate was at his mercy, then Ace shudders to think what his dad might have in mind.

Roger might show it fairly rarely to his three 'children', and more often appear as the goofy man and clingy father that he actually is, but Ace was not blind to the fact that his father could be ruthless when he wanted to. He knows there are shades of truth behind those insults and mockery back in Foosha, of those sneers and jeers about the Pirate King, and growing up, despite Roger's best effort, Ace grew up knowing the darker side of life as a pirate captain, as well as a darker side to the captain himself. No one can be known the way his father was without, and though usually he doesn't mind it, this time, Ace actively fears it.

In the end, whether he wanted to admit it or not, Marco did saved his life, and had been the reason he could go back to even tell his father of his findings. Ace will be damned if he'd be indebted for something like that, even if Marco had been from an opposing crew. No, _especially_ since he was from the opposing crew. Even if it means he has to save him from his own father.

And he knew that was an odd thing to think about, when just a day ago, he had thought he would be the key to finally receive Roger's acknowledgement.

The town itself was incredibly different on daytime, and the only way Ace knew he was heading the right way was after he came across a flock of the townsfolk gathering on the streets, looking horrifically at the large burn marks across the ground, as well as the pile of charred human corpses just a few blocks away. Even if he had been the one who did that, Ace felt ill, not for the result but for the fact that the pirates hadn't even the decency to clean up and bury their _nakamas._

Finding the edge of town was easy enough, even if the townsfolk had been rather unforthcoming with their help, and it was even easier still to find where Roger and his men had gone through. The very moment Ace stepped away from the last building before the forest, he can already spot Buggy standing by what seems to be a mining cave of sorts, talking with Mohji, one of his trusty subordinate and his other subordinate, Cabaji cycling around them. The red nosed general was tapping his foot on the ground, looking impatiently at the entrance.

"—thing here, i swear i'll find rock, paper, scissors one of these days with that freaking cheater," Ace heard him grumbling, and as he sharply turned, the freckled male jumped to the side, hiding behind some thick bushes that led all the way to the forest behind the entrance and began to crawl to make his way closer to them. That must be the hideout Marco mentioned, and his father and everyone else must be inside already. That means there might be a chance that they already found Marco.

"Think they're right about there being someone else around though, General?" he heard Cabaji asked, the squeaking of his unicycle constant and consistent, "Remember what the guy said to Alvida? About the other pirate guy that got here before us?"

The clown hummed, as Ace felt himself stiffening, "It could be anyone though, he didn't really gave us a good description. Tall, blonde, tattoos, the guy can't even tell us what the tattoo looked like. Eh, i swear, guys spilled everything whenever they see Alvida, but the downside of that is sometimes they'd be too distracted by her to give the correct intel," from behind the bushes, Ace could hear a clap of hands, before Buggy continued, "Whoever that was, we'd take care of him all the same. Can't let Shanks' team gets all of the glory,"

Ace bit his lower lips, and moved even faster behind the thankfully thick vegetation.

And he nearly shouted, when all of the sudden, the bushes above him began rustling and he heard a low roar from behind it.

Breathing heavily, Ace panned up to see that Richie, Mohji's pet lion was sniffing down at him, severe and animalistic eyes peering down at him. It was the recognition that he saw reflected on the lion's eyes that stopped him from mauling him, Ace knew, when those large, snarling mouth closed down and he began sniffing at him curiously. Somewhere beyond the bushes, he can hear Mohji himself calling out, "Richie, what are you doing there?"

Shit, shit, shit, he know this is just Buggy and his men, but Ace can't be caught now. Unlike Shanks, who depending on how he proceed, might have a chance to turn a blind eye, Buggy actually actively disliked him, Sabo and Luffy, and would do anything to get them into trouble.

Well, it's not his fault the guy has a very mock-worthy nose.

"Richie, get away," he hissed to the lion, who snorted, almost looking like he was offended, "Shoo, Richie! I'm trying to hide here!"

But of course the dumb lion won't listen to him, growling deeply in an almost challenging way. The pink maned lion began to turn, obviously trying to reveal his location when a flash of idea immediately came to Ace and he whispered a little louder, "I'd share my food with you for a week if you shut up!"

Richie immediately turned to him again, eyes wide, and the snarl that appeared on his face this time was a lot more friendly, forming an almost human-like smile. Big feline head butted against his, followed by low purring that suited a small domestic cat better than an animal the size of his, and in a fit of relief, Ace petted his pink mane. Well, at least not everyone in Buggy's division disliked him as much as their general.

"Richie, is someone there?"

Mohji's voice broke Ace out of his reverie, and he shooed the lion away again, this time succeeding to do so. He crawled away even faster, reaching the end of the row of bushes just by the mine's entrance by the time the beast tamer approached his pet. Even better, when Ace popped his head up to survey his surrounding, Buggy had gone with Mohji, both now inspecting the same spot where he had been earlier, while Cabaji had cycled away, leaving the entrance unguarded.

And he wonder why dad doesn't trust him as much as he trusted Shanks, the dark haired logia thought inwardly as he successfully sneaked into the mine.

The inner side of the mine reminded him of the little damp caves littered over the forest of Foosha, and the smell certainly woke a side of nostalgia in him. Most of their treasure hunting - the ones that were 'safe enough' for him to join, anyway - often ended up with exploring a place like this, and part of the fun was in anticipation of what they'd encounter in the depths of these caves.

Right now, however, it was less fun and more nerve-wracking. Upon entering he could already see blood spatters and massacred bodies forming trails deeper into the mine, surely to lead him to where his father and his men would be. He followed through, seeing that as expected, he didn't recognize any of the dead faces, which was a a relief on its own.

The path deeper into the mine was long winding and at some point branching away, most only dimly lit by hanging lanterns and it was years spent with the crew that gave him telltale sign of which road was taken by whom. The easiest one to tell was of his father's trail, in which there were plenty more reckless bloodshed amongst all. Some of them men's body were thrown off from the ground in an unnecessary display of power, slashed and cut in the most creative way, and nowadays, faced with such sight, Ace could only roll his eyes at his father's flashiness.

He knew his father had to split up with Rayleigh too, because one of the path that led away had only few blood but plenty of dead men with an immortalized expression of shock. Rayleigh was meticulous and efficient, and his men often follow this same principle, so it would come to no surprise to Ace if he would only use his _haki_ to neutralize people and let whoever followed him to finish the job while he inspect his surrounding. Ace actively avoided taking that route and hoped that Marco was not somewhere there, because Rayleigh's method often means he'd knew if someone was following him even from afar, and he really can't risk that.

The rest of the path led somewhere lower, almost underground, where Ace could see telltale signs of other groups and had some speculation as to who led said group. Scopper Gaban and Shanks were the other two he could find, and before he could identify some more and make a decision as to which route he should take, he was distracted by a flash of blue from a small hole leading to a lower ground, made even brighter by the lack of light as a whole this deep down.

"Huh?" he murmured to himself, slowly creeping on the damp grounds towards where the hole was, watching as another blue tinted flash was reflected on the rim of the mossy surface. He stopped right above it, bowing his upper body lower and squeezing one eye shut in hopes to get a better view.

He never did get the chance, when suddenly the ground underneath his knees and hand crumbled, and before he knew it he fell with a startled yell.

Thankfully, his fall ended in a heartbeat, but that doesn't stop his heart from thumping rapidly from the shock. His back and sides, where he had landed on, were sore from the impact, and briefly forgetting his need to become stealthy and quiet, the logia user groaned, hissing at the soreness on his knee that he was sure without even looking came from a large scrape.

As he continued to hiss and groan from the pain, it wasn't until Ace lifted his head did he found, right behind his tussled dark locks a pair of feet standing near him. The person attached to the feet squatted down closer to his level, and the moment he caught a sight of tattoo across naked chest did he snapped his head up, to find mirthful blue eyes looking down at him.

Marco the Phoenix, with his droopy eyes, lazy smile and amusement dancing behind said eyes raised a single brow, "I thought surprising enemies from the sky was my job?"

"You!" Ace could only exclaim wide eyed, scrambling away and ignoring the pinching and soreness all over his body from the sudden movement. In reflex, the raven lit up both arms on fire as a form of defense, and indirectly lighting up his surrounding and allowing him to see where he had landed.

Judging from the pickaxes and the rough, shiny countours along the wall, he would guess that this was where the mining took place - before the pirates took over, at the very least - and just right behind him, almost making him stumble on his attempt to put some distance between himself and Marco, Ace found a pile of gold in various forms, with jewels and other precious metals jutting out of it. This is no doubt where the crew's booty was stored, a makeshift treasure room of sorts.

Lying just beyond the pile, almost half hidden if it wasn't for the glinting sword in his hold lies a dead man, chest torn out in a sickening fashion and his entire body bathed in his own blood. A fallen hat nearby, with a faded jolly roger and with a form almost similar to the one his father would use daily told Ace that he was staring at the captain right now, the wound on his chest looked like something had burst out from it… or someone had ripped his chest out.

Instantly, Ace turned to face the only other - living, as he soon find through another brief glance around - man in the room, eyes drawn to the blood spattered foot and pants.

He looked back at the dead captain, to the men around the room and back at the man he had done all this painstaking effort to rescue, who at this point had stood up again, dusting his knees and still had on that almost condescending smile, "But," Roger's son could only say, uncomprehending on the current situation, "But you— the seastone…,"

The blonde cocked his head, then snapped his fingers as he dug into his pocket, "You mean this?"

Out from his pants pocket, he produced three little empty bullet shells, each of them glinting in a way that normal bullets don't, which told Ace of their unusual components, "Dug it out myself," Marco told him leisurely, even rolling the shells between his fingers in a display of dexterity, "Took it out once they dumped me down here, took out the captain and been searching for the thing they stole from my captain ever since before you got here,"

Ace was still staring at him in disbelief, eyes going from the bullets to the blonde _Yonko_ commander, "But, but you were…, they're seastone…,"

"So?" Marco asked, still smiling if also a bit more confused, "I'm pretty durable, even without my healing ability. Still, it was enough to make them believe i'm wounded and harmless for them to bring me here. I told you, i need to pinpoint where their base was and having them take me was a really convenient way of doing it. Thank you for providing the perfect opportunity for that, by the way,"

The way he explained it - as well as that infuriating smile of his - made Ace felt rather stupid. It did felt like he went down pretty easily, especially for someone of his fame and caliber, but the way he had looked, the desperation and the pain etched across his face last night had felt so real. Ace spent the entire night feeling guilty over that face, and he had done all of this, all the sneaking and running and _even promising to share his food—_

"You…," His heart was now beating fast, but not from the shock of a sudden free fall, but from the flaring anger that grew exponentially inside of his chest, bursting out in form of his suddenly flaring flame on his arms, which he aimed at the barely phased zoan, only mildly burning him before his own blue flames took care of the damage. In further frustration, Ace shouted, forgetting that there are others nearby that can't know of his being here, "Then what's with acting like you got fatally shot and shit?! You fucking scared me!"

Instead of apologizing and grovelling on his feet like Ace though he should be doing, Marco only quirked his brow, the corners of his lips twitching as if he's trying to keep it from growing larger, "You were worried?"

"No!" the younger spat out, "I know how to repay debts. I thought you got hurt and captured saving me, so it's only right that i return the favour,"

As if he cannot read the atmosphere, Marco smiled even more, looking like he was finally unable to resist to do so, "Repaying debts," he chuckled, "Listen to you, talking like a good and noble outstanding citizen instead of a pirate,"

"Just because i'm a pirate doesn't mean i don't know my manners,"

With twinkling, mirthful eyes, the blonde opened his mouth again - and in preparation for it being another mockery on his expense, Ace already heated his flames further - but abruptly stopped as he snapped his head to the side, frowning severely, "We got company," he announced lowly, blue flames flaring against from every surface, transforming his arms to fiery wings and his legs to become strong talons, curled as if ready for another encounter.

Though Ace was unsure how he figured that out when there's barely any sound - Can he use _Haki_ too? It won't surprise him - he widened his eyes, finally remembering the other predicament currently going on inside of the mine. The young pirate immediately extinguished his flames and ran over to stop the older man from moving away, grabbing on to one of his wings. He tried to ignore the weird sensation of hold what is basically 'cold fire' - it doesn't even feel like feathers - when it was enough to get the man's attention, "Wait, you have to get out of here without them knowing,"

Marco narrowed his eyes at him, "Them?"

Ace bit his lower lips, glancing at the entrance of the room, "My dad and his men,"

For the first time, Marco's gaze turned serious, probably perceiving the reason behind Ace forbidding him to advance further. Still he gave an almost ironic smile as he turned to Ace, flames dying and leaving the freckled male to hold on to an entirely human arm, "And you're warning me about them?"

He knows very well how weird it sounded, but as if Ace is going to tell him that, "Fine, if you want to get caught by a pirate crew much more competent in taking you down than these assholes, be my guest,"

By now, even Ace could hear the sound of approaching footsteps, and from the sound of the whine and a stern scolding voice, he'd only guess that it was Shanks and his subordinated on their way down here. The arm he was still holding on to quake, followed by low laughter, before they burst into flames the colour of morning sky once more, "Well, that does sounds like a bad idea if you put it that way," Marco said, flapping the wings Ace wasn't holding on to experimentally. They almost filled the entirety of the room in that single motion.

As the voices became closer, Ace bit his lower lips even harder. Right, Marco can probably make a speedy getaway, but this room was so small he'd have nowhere to hide. Shit, he knew he should've think this through, but then he hadn't expected anything that happened after he fell to, well, happen, "Uh," he mumbled, unsure, and finally despite his best judgement, asked, "C-can you take me with you? Just to the exit?"

Golden brows raised in full question, and without even voicing it out, just the man merely glancing to the single exit to the room made it clear what he was thinking, "I can't have them find me either. I'm not supposed to be here," he begrudgingly admits, and almost shamefully added, "If Dad finds out i sneaked out, he's going to ground me again,"

The snort of laughter that escaped Marco was wholly unappreciated. But before Ace could get mad at him, the wings he was holding on to shook him off, and in a flash of blue and yellow, a large bird almost twice his size has replaced the blonde man. The bird extended its wings out, shuddering slightly as it bowed down and cocked its head to his direction.

Ace didn't even think twice.

The very second he climbed on, his stomach lurched as the Phoenix took off in such a high speed, bursting up to the hole he made from his fall. Ace closed his eyes, feeling dizzy from the constant changing motion and worried over bumping his head to the low ceilings, arms automatically clinging even harder against the thin avian neck and face buried to the large body. It didn't take long for the cramped cave to turn into the wide open air, and the moment it did, the dark haired male opened his eyes, finding blue skies around him and the sight of the quiet town underneath.

The sight was wholly different from the last time he was up here, but his amazement remained the same.

Sadly, the flight doesn't last very long, and the Phoenix carefully landed on the rooftops of one of the taller buildings. Ace climbed down, but as soon as his feet touched the ground and he regained his balance, a gust of wind from behind him had been the only warning before the giant blue bird took off all of the sudden, back to the sky. He could only watch from the rooftop until Marco became nothing more than a dot on the sky, his blue flames and the colour of the sky barely distinguishable.

It took him a while to realized that he had been dropped off on the same rooftop from the night before, which means it'll be fairly easy for him to return back to the ship, still unnoticed. Yet, as Ace watched him leave, with only a hint of disappointment, he muttered under his breath, "You can at least say thank you, asshole,"

* * *

Late that night, Ace was faced with ire from several sources: One, from the crew, who scolded him for sneaking out again, fully knowing that they'd get in trouble with his father for letting him out of their watch; two, from Roger, who eventually found out that he had sneaked out; and three, from Sabo, who was now supporting the frizziest hair Ace had ever seen that it might as well formed a new type of hairstyle. He had been thrown further than they had anticipated, as it turns out, and if there's something they never had to deal with in their youth, was the fact that Sabo's now longer hair doesn't take well to being submerged in sea water for a long period of time.

At least he still gets some love from Luffy, especially after he promised to tell him and Sabo the full detail about his escapade, and Richie, who immediately sought after him during dinner much to Mohji's confusion. Ace reluctantly fulfilled his part of the bargain, allowing the lion to take some part of his portion and once he saw how much was left once Richie decided he had enough, began to curse Marco and his own stupidity.

Half dinners for a week, being given cold shoulders by Sabo and his magnificent puff of hair, and with his cheeks still red from being pinched, squeezed and smothered by his father during the entire course of his 'scolding', and in the end, he had been left without a single word of gratitude.

Well, it's not like he wanted Marco to thank him, Ace had only set out there to help him to repay the man for his help after all.

Still, common courtesy would not have been remiss.

Sighing, Ace flopped down to his bed, burying his face into his pillow. He was all alone in the bedroom, with Luffy and Sabo deciding to spend their last night in this port scouring the town, Luffy for some more food and Sabo for a hair product to tame his damaged mane. Unlike the two of them, Ace had been grounded for the day by his father, but since no one could tell him where Ace had gone to, his punishment would only last for today. Roger seemed to have believed him when Ace said he got lost trying to follow him.

"That should be a lesson enough to you, my lost little guppy," he had said earlier, nodding sagely, "And i am so glad that you hadn't been able to follow us. As it turns out, we're not alone in this port town, and i would hate for you to come across _that one_. Oh, i'm getting goosebumps just thinking about him getting his hands on you. Don't you worry, we'll leave tomorrow early in the morning, i'm not giving that old coot time to get his feathery lackey to do anything to my precious children,"

Ace briefly wondered what would happen if his dad ever found out that the 'feathery lackey' and his 'little guppy' did came across each other, and decided that it was for the good of the world that he never found out.

He was just about to slip to an early slumber when there's knocking on the window. One knocking became two, became three and grew incessantly, and the tattooed male groaned before he kicked off his blanket and trudged over the circular window. He thought curious seagulls would only come over during early mornings and the afternoon, and News or Delivery Coos doesn't go through here—

But when he threw the curtain away, Ace widened his eyes and nearly fell back from shock.

Instead of any other curious avian wandering by, right outside of his window was none other than Marco in phoenix form, ringed eyes peering in through the moderately sized circular window while his beak kept knocking on the glass. Ace hurriedly opened the window, about to scold the man for this daring act - again, after all the efforts he went through! - when the bird pushed its way with a burst of blue flame, and suddenly Ace wasn't alone in his bedroom anymore.

"I would've thought Roger gave his own son his own bedroom," was Marco's first comment the moment he transformed back to human form, eyeing Sabo and Luffy's bed curiously.

Ace stared at him, dumbfounded, both at the brazen entrance and the fact that the man must have a dead wish to risk actually approaching Oro Jackson in the first place. In the end, he could only say, "Those are my brothers' beds, so yeah, he kind of does,"

"Brothers? I thought Roger only had…," the blonde trailed off, brows furrowed before he snapped his fingers, "Oh right, what was that again, Vice Admiral Garp's grandson and Goa's Noble's son. Heh, quite the band of brothers you three made,"

"I'm sorry, what are you doing here?"

Marco gave him another enigmatic smile, and Ace began to resent the sight of it, "I heard you are leaving the town tomorrow morning. Might be for the best. Pops and my crew are on their way here to pick me up, so i had to quickly stop them from their tracks and have them sail somewhere else to avoid our crews from clashing,"

It dawned on Ace then why he had been in such a hurry to leave before. Their two ships meeting may cause an altercation, especially considering that they had been after the same pirate crew. Marco may have killed the captain, but Roger Pirates had been seen docking on the island, had taken care of the rest and had taken the loot, so the glory would obviously goes to Roger Pirates.

"Don't worry, they're on their way to deliver the item i needed to retrieve back to the rightful owner, and that's all that matter to Pops. We won't dispute anything else, but i have a delivery of my own to make," he said as he began to dug into his pants pocket, similar to the way he did earlier that day before he presented the bullets that shot him to Ace. This time, however, he fished out what seems to be a handful of blood red beads.

"I was rather surprised they got their hands on this thing," Ace heard the man continue, even though his eyes were still glued to what was revealed to be a bead necklace, "Each of these beads were made out of Ember Coral gems, named so because these gems formed only on certain volcanic islands after an eruption and only on certain time frame, making getting them extremely difficult. These gems can withstand even the hottest flames, and they're highly valuable in the markets,"

Yet, even after saying that, Marco casually tossed it over, and it was a good thing Ace had quick reflexes that he can catch it before the bead necklace can hit the floor. On closer inspection now, Ace could see the furtive, intricate lining inside of the glassy gems, the reddish glow inside that almost make it seem like a true ember under the correct lighting and that the necklace as a whole was heavier than it looked, "I don't really wear accessories—"

Ace trailed off as he looked up, when he found that Marco was closer, much closer than he was a while ago. Yet before Ace could take a step back, the man lifted his hand and held his chin with his thumb and forefinger, having him to look up to light blue orbs with his own blown wide grey ones.

"I never said this about anyone else but," Marco licked his lower lips, and the sight of it made Ace's breath caught, "You intrigued me, Gol D. Ace,"

Even with his stomach churning oddly, Ace could still gather enough breath and will to say without stuttering, "Is that a good thing?"

Marco chuckled, the sound low and deep and it's making Ace's head spin, "Who knows? When you catch a pirate's attention, it can mean a lot of things. Maybe you got his unwanted attention," his eyes seems to grow darker, and Ace was sure it wasn't just his imagination, "Or he thinks there's something precious about you, a hidden treasure, if i may, waiting to be uncovered,"

Now, all Ace could do was stare at him blankly, "What does _that_ even mean?" he sputtered.

Instead of answering him and because Ace learned that he's somewhat a cryptic asshole, Marco only laughed at his face.

And to prove that Ace was entirely correct about his assessment, Marco didn't give him any reply, merely walking away like nothing had happened. He partially turned into his avian form, spreading out his wings and raising one talon to hold on to the window pane, oddly shaped blonde tresses dancing along with the breeze that entered the room as he turned back slightly, just enough for Ace to catch the smile on his face, "I know i said they'll fetch a high price, but i think those necklace should suit you," he said, "I hoped to be proven right the next time i see you,"

Despite his entire confusion about what just happened, Ace still looked down to the necklace in his hand. His lips formed into an annoyed moue, and he frowned, "And i told you i don't wear accessories,"

It wasn't until as Marco left, flying out of his window and to the distance, did it only occurred to Ace that he didn't comment on the part about them meeting again.

And if he did ended up wearing the bead necklaces, well, it's certainly because Luffy said it looked good on him instead of it being caused by anything Marco said.

* * *

And thus, the burn starts. Kinda. Hope i didn't kinda make things happen too fast, but like, this thing called attraction's gotta start somewhere, you know?

Please let me know what you think so far, your feedback is always greatly appreciated!

I hope you liked it!


	4. Chapter 4

Surprise, bitch, i bet you thought this fic ain't getting updated.

...I don't mean it, no one's a bitch here but me for forgetting this, i'm so sorry.

* * *

The smell that wafted from the elegant piece of envelope was nothing but sweet, almost disarmingly so. From where Ace was seated, he could see cursive writing in golden ink etched upon the cream coloured paper - Ecru, Sabo pointed out, because he's a massive nerd - and despite being such an innocent looking item, the envelope and the letter within managed to pull a sour expression from Roger's face.

He tossed it away before long, grumbling low underneath his breath as Rayleigh picked the letter up and adjusted his glasses. Unlike Roger, an amused smile graced his features, and he leaned over to his side to allow Shakky to get a better look at the content.

"That woman doesn't know when to give up," Roger groused over Shakky's titters, throwing the piece of paper in Rayleigh's hand a look of burning hatred, "As if i didn't know why she kept inviting me to her children's weddings. Opportunistic, sadistic, incorrigible bitc—"

"Have some water, Roger, there's steam coming out of your ears,"

While his father and his right hand man began to converse between themselves about what a conniving woman Charlotte Linlin was, Ace could feel Sabo's elbow poking his side teasingly, while the blonde tried to quiet down his snickers. In return, Ace hit him back, clicking his tongue and burying his face back to the pile of food in front of him, almost missing Luffy's hand trying to subtly steal one of his chicken legs.

For years, ever since the world found out Gol D. Roger has a son, Big Mom had tried her best to throw her children at Ace in a not so subtle attempt to secure an alliance between herself and the Pirate King. Not even Roger's many threats to go to war seems to be enough to deter the fellow Yonko into giving up on making Ace her son-in-law, and her methods became increasingly daring the older Ace got. He lost count how many daughters - and later, sons - of the _Yonko_ who just happens to cross their path, yet they all came bearing gifts and pretty words that made their interest in him sounded genuine.

None of them had been, at least, he didn't think so, and each meeting had been awful one after another. The only nice one had been Chiffon - and maybe Pudding, if she doesn't creeped him up for some reason - but she stopped appearing once Big Mom's sons did. Raisin was creepy, doubled more so by Cracker, but none of them beat Perospero, at which point Roger put his foot down and interfered personally when the lanky man doesn't seem to be able to take a hint.

(Despite all of those awful incidents, it doesn't mean that Ace completely turn them all away. But no one, absolutely no one, can ever know about that one time with Charlotte Katakuri. Or the next time after that, and the few more times afterwards, and the following few more when they finally decided to accept it as a regular thing without any strings attached. Katakuri was only supposed to be there as his brother's bodyguard, after all, and he had no intention of settling down.

But Ace know he would if his mother told him to, and Ace really hoped that Big Mom never get the idea to order her second son to also pursue him because that one is going to be really hard to refuse.)

"All i'm saying," Roger harrumphed, and it's evident just from that gesture that whatever conversation Ace missed while he was too busy jabbing Sabo underneath the table and stopping Luffy from taking the last piece of chicken was won by Rayleigh, "Is that i could not believe anyone at all could ever use their children as a way to gain power. You know what, i can't believe anyone would use their children for anything at all! Did you remember how much she boasted about one of her girls being proposed by the King of Elbaf? Shameful! No children of mine would ever know anything about romance, dating, or anything closely related to those until they're 70,"

"Roger, do you even know what you're saying right now…,"

While Roger and Rayleigh continued their conversation - that seems to be going nowhere, really - and Shakky distracted by Luffy asking what 'romance' means, Ace gave Sabo one last jab with a crooked smile, "I think Dad should be stricter about this one. Us reaching our 70s is only in 50 years or so, you'd need at least 100 to finally finish your confession letter to that blonde girl from Sun Pirates,"

The squawk of absolute embarrassment from the blond was the only warning the logia got before he was suddenly dunked head first into his soup bowl.

And thus conclude the early morning breakfast on board of Oro Jackson.

* * *

 _Once upon a time, there lived a princess, with shimmering ebony hair, lips the shade of the freshest peach, and rosy, dusted cheeks as if kissed by the sun itself. She was a beauty known throughout the lands and beyond, a kind and innocent soul loved by all of her subjects, but it is her soul, free like the stallions in the meadows, that attracted the heart of a Mage._

 _The Mage was of great and unexplainable power, yet just and wise, a protector to the kingdom. It was said that his benevolent and altruistic heart was the one who granted him his power, the power to heal and give life, and one he would use to help the people of the kingdom. With this very same power and as a sign of his love, he gave the Princess a—_

"Meat? Did he give her meat?"

"Luffy, don't cut him off, it's just getting good!"

"But he's telling it too slow! I'm hungry!"

Though it wasn't his fault, the way the old food stall vendor's face fell at Luffy's words made Ace felt guilty.

The island, aptly named Gardenia, was famous for what the locals would call 'The Princess' Gift', a garden named so due to the very famous local legend. It was one of the main attraction point for the island, so much that the name could be seen on just about every board and sign, including on the food stall that the three brothers found themselves in. The garden itself was famous to be the blooming ground of one of a kind flowers and plants, where it would not bloom or even be seen anywhere else in the world, making them an extremely rare commodity.

Also making the entire island a really odd place for a pirate crew to dock on, but it's not like they had much choice on the matter; During their latest adventure in a winter island, Luffy had slipped into the icy waters while chasing after some wild animal, causing Roger to dive after him and now has fallen ill with flu. Their medical supply was scarce as it is after a long voyage, so this island had been the closest and friendliest, and it's a neutral zone. A safe place for the ailing Pirate King to recover.

Too friendly, if Ace had to be honest, because even upon their arrival, despite the large jolly roger on the sails and the rough looking individuals descending down from the intimidating Oro Jackson, the locals merely welcomed them like they would any other tourist ship. The image of a little old lady reaching up to put a flower crown on a stony faced Benn Beckman's head still made him snicker.

Still, this is an area that should not be disturbed, as Rayleigh had warned them before he allowed them to take off by themselves, so the town's shopping centre was the only way to go. Luffy had wanted to buy Roger something as an apology - seeing that his guardian being sick was his fault to begin with - and it was in the middle of looking around when the old man behind the stall had called them, offering to tell them about the island's most famous story.

Behind Luffy, Ace balled his fist and smacked the back of his youngest brother's head, prompting the young Paramecia to yelp in pain, "Don't be rude," he hissed, before plucking one of the produce displayed in front of the old man's stall and giving it to Luffy, "There, now apologize to the nice man,"

"Sorry, sir," Luffy chirped - not even sounding all that apologetic - before biting into the fruit he was handed, finishing it in 2 bites.

Next to the boy, Sabo sighed, and gave the elderly man behind the stall a smile, "Sorry about that, sir. Please continue,"

The old man warily looked between the three boys in front of him, before pursing his lips and shifting on his seat, "Very well, where was i…? Ah yes,"

 _The Mage gave her the most beautiful garden in the world, filled with the kind of flowers no one has ever laid eyes on, where the grass would remain green throughout the year, where animals, prey and predator alike would come and mingle, too entranced by the beauty to follow their nature. On that garden, she would dance and laugh like never before, feeling the sense of joy that could not be found anywhere else._

 _In all of her life, the Princess has many suitors, nobles and royalty from different land attracted by her beauty, none which could ever win her heart. But in that very same garden, she falls in love with the Mage, the same way the Mage had fallen for her._

 _But love was not enough to convince the King. He saw the lowly Mage, not of the blood of royalty, and forbade their relationship. Not a single word of pleading from the Princess reach his ears, and when she would not give up, the King made her chose between her kingdom - her family and subject - and the Mage she had fallen for. It was not a decision she could make, and in the end, with tears running down her freckled cheeks, she chose the kingdom._

 _Nothing the Mage could do is able to dissuade her, nor did he ever manage to change the King's mind. With every passing day his heart broke and his hope dimmed, and in the end, he could not take it anymore. He resigned to his fate, resigned for a life without his beloved._

 _Meanwhile, a war has stirred outside of the castle walls, and—_

 _"_ Which war? Gardenia isn't ruled by kingdoms anymore, so this has to happen to an ancient line of monarch, right? What was it called—"

" _Sabo,_ "

"Sorry, i'm just curious," the middle brother gave a sheepish grin.

The youngest was still munching audibly in between them, while the eldest rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath, "Nerd,"

Sabo gave Ace a side glare, before turning back to the man in front of them, "Sorry. Please, go on, sir,"

The old man flickered his sight between the three brothers again, apprehensive, and finally cleared his throat, "Right…,"

 _The Mage, as a capable protector and warrior, was called up to arms. Before he left, however, with all of his power, he created a gift for his dear Princess, a memento for the time and love they shared. It was a gift that shows the depth of the Mage's love for her, and with that one gift, it was enough to change the Princess' mind. That very night, she wrote him a heartfelt letter professing her love and intention to leave her life behind to follow him, and within that letter she asked to meet him within the garden precious to the two of them, so they can leave the kingdom together and never look back again._

 _But alas, fate was not kind to the young Princess._

 _Unbeknownst to her, her letter never arrived, for the Mage never returned from the war. As she lay await in the promised place, it was not her beloved Mage that found her but a group of assassins from the enemy kingdom. That night, she breathed her last, never to see her love or her kingdom ever again._

 _Story told that it was the King who discovered her remains days later, which sent him into unconsolable grief. He had her buried along with the item that she held tight even in her death, the last gift his daughter would ever received from her beloved. To this day, however, no one ever knew where he had her daughter buried, or what the Mage's gift had been. It was said that the gift was one of such value that could not be beaten even with the most precious gem or the shiniest gold, the rarest treasure of them all._

"Treasure?!"

 _"Ace!"_

"Oh, like you two didn't interrupt him earlier," Ace threw back at his brothers, but ignored them quickly in favour of leaning to the front of the stall's display, eyes shining in interest, "There's an unknown treasure in this island? What is it? What was the gift?"

The old man blinked, startled, "Well, eh, um," he cleared his throat, "No one knows, really. Plenty has tried but none ever succeed. It's just an old folklore, after all, a story surrounding the garden that our island has become famous for, so it might or might not be real. For all we know, there might not be any Princess or Mage. Now," the old man stood up, glancing between the three of them before putting his hand forward, palms up, "That is all children, and if there's nothing else, your total amount is 5000 Belli,"

"What?!" It was Sabo who yelped, staring wide eyed at the vendor, "That's way too expensive, we only bought a couple of fruits and a loaf of bread!"

"Yes, but your little brother there ate an entire crate of Yellow Grapples and half a basket of Smelt Jerky,"

Almost simultaneously, both Ace and Sabo turned to Luffy, and sure enough, there were plenty colourful, oily traces around his mouth and fingers, as well as peels and fish bones all over the ground beneath him, "Luffy!"

"I told you guys i was hungry…,"

* * *

"Great, we haven't bought anything and we're already out of money,"

For someone who was responsible for their current predicament, Luffy didn't look all that apologetic. Instead, he looked pained and mildly annoyed, probably due to the massive bump behind his head where both Ace and Sabo had punched him. Pouting slightly, he waved the bag in his hand at Ace's face, "Hey, at least i already bought my present for Roger and didn't eat it,"

"That's the whole point of us being out here Luffy, that doesn't mean Ace and I didn't want to buy something else," Sabo groaned, looking around the crowd restlessly. Unlike Ace, whose mouth watered at every food vendor they passed, he was eyeing every jewellery seller and knick-knacks on top stalls in the open market. He's probably looking for something to buy for Koala, that girl he met months ago when they come across Fisher Tiger and the Sun Pirates, Ace thought, something to include in his latest letter for her to show where he was right now.

Usually, whenever he realized this, Ace would made fun of him - because Sabo has a Crush with a capital C, and it's his brotherly duty to make fun of him and his inability to confess to her - but right now, he was too hungry to make the effort.

As they walked aimlessly passed another bakery, instead of drooling over the collection of tarts displayed on the glass, Ace's eyes were instead pulled towards the sign hanging just right next to the door, where just like any other, the name of the island's most famous attraction was printed on, "Hey, what do you say we check out the 'Princess' Gift Garden? Since it's the same garden as the one from that story earlier, there's bound to be some clues in it about the treasure, right?"

"I don't know why you're so curious about that treasure," Sabo said as he finally pulled his eyes off an admittedly beautiful piece of craft, a long hairpin with a decorative flower on the side that looked quite real yet Ace had never seen before. If this island supposedly had flowers that could only be found here, then that's probably a flower from inside of the garden, "That old man did say that it's just a folklore, so it might not even be real,"

"But what if it does?" Ace insisted, his foot already deciding on its course as he bounded around his brothers, "You heard what the guy said, it's 'the rarest treasure of them all' and no one ever knew or try to look for it,"

And getting his hands on that rare treasure may just be a way to proof to his dad that he's a capable pirate. After all, he managed to find something so precious that no one has ever heard of, ahead of everyone else.

There hasn't been any opportunity rising its head lately for him to prove himself to his father. They've only gone to the winter island where Roger got sick to pick up Scopper Gaban's expedition party, and before going there, they had gone to visit several old and safe territories, where it was so safe Roger actually let them run amok. It had only been days filled with lifting crates of supplies and every day routine, and the most excitement he got was when an old lady's cat in one of that island ran away and he, Luffy and Sabo raced to find who can find it first.

Luffy won, much to his and Sabo's wounded pride, but then their brother always has a knack with animals.

One would've thought that life in the Pirate King's ship was a lot more exciting, but it had been a long and boring 2 months, where the last action he saw was back in Port Aldeena.

At the reminder of Port Aldeena, Ace surreptitiously reached up for the beads around his neck, a common fixture on his person since that very fateful encounter. He hadn't seen Marco again since then, and while the Whitebeard Pirates was mentioned now and again in the papers, none of them had mentioned the First Division Commander at all. There hadn't been whispers about his father's rival crew on board as well, and he hadn't dared to ask anyone about Marco specifically when the appearance of his bead necklace already caused some suspicion on board.

Well, not much suspicion as people just casually noting how nice his new accessory was, but Rayleigh did ask once where he had gotten such a rare item. Ace didn't think his half-assed excuse about just randomly finding them and thinking they look nice was believable, but his father seems to accept that story and if Roger doesn't ask, then Rayleigh usually doesn't either.

He didn't know how to explain it, but Ace found himself trying to find what he could about Whitebeard Pirates, especially their resident Zoan. It's just the need to know, he supposed, because like it or not, Marco the Phoenix had been an enigma and he's a curious person by nature. The man was strong, there's no doubt about it, and Ace also supposed he admired that strength, even if the man was from an enemy crew.

Then there was his words. If Marco said he was intrigued by Ace, then Ace would be lying if he said he didn't want to know more about the man who he shared a rather adrenaline rushing moment with.

Out of curiousity, of course.

Behind him, Luffy and Sabo's voices picked up, the younger whining for a piece of the bread Sabo was holding, and Ace quickly dropped his hand away from his bead necklace.

Placed right in the middle of the city centre, 'Princess' Gift' was filled with people, local and tourist alike, families and individuals relaxing on the grass and underneath the shade provided by thick foliages, or simply milling about the rocky path. Within every inch of the vast green fields, there were numerous amount of colourful vegetation, flowers and the likes growing freely out of bushes or from the ground. A blue and black spotted butterfly glided away from a bed of red and orange coloured flower, landing on the tip of Luffy's nose.

"Oh, don't move," Sabo immediately exclaimed excitedly, and from his pocket, he pulled out a mini Cameko. The visual DenDenMushi yawned at the interruption, but readily aimed its eyes at Luffy's nose. The eyes flashed several times, until the butterfly flew away in to a different bed of flower right across the one it came from.

Once it was gone, Luffy started wiggling his nose, his nostril flaring wide and closing several times, "That tickles,"

"Hope that came out good, i'm sending them to Koala," With the Cameko still held in his hand, Sabo began to look around, eyes widening as if he just had an idea, "Hey, maybe i should take some pictures of this place for her instead. Think she likes flowers? All girls likes flowers, right?"

Instead of answering him, Ace quirked a brow and gave a lopsided grin, "Wait, you don't even know what she likes? Haven't you two been sending letters for months now?"

As expected, a deep flush slowly crept into the blond's cheeks, "Well, uh, we did, but we… i don't know, i never specifically asked about flowers, and she never mention them. You think i should? I don't want to just assume she likes something because she's a girl, it's going to be like that time i gave her a hairpin and she said she doesn't really wear one because they falls off a lot during fights. She said thank you and all, but i felt so stupid, so i always asked first now…,"

He sounded so flustered and concerned over whether or not he should give pictures of flowers that Ace couldn't help but let out a snicker that quickly grow to become a straight guffaw.

Once he finally calmed down, Ace was faced with an unamused look from his brother, who said flatly, "You know, one day, you're going to have your own awkward romance and it's going to be my turn making fun of every single fumbling you do,"

"So you're admitting that your attempt in romance is awkward?"

Sabo only sniffed haughtily, and walked away to start taking pictures of flowers and trees.

Ace snickered, "Oh, i pissed him off," he snorted before nudging Luffy's side, gaining the younger's attention, "What do you say we leave Sabo to his romance woes while we go on a real adventure to find a real treasure?"

He didn't have to ask twice. He knew the word 'adventure' was enough to hook Luffy in.

* * *

After about an hour walking around the 'Princess' Gift', Ace sort of could understand why that Princess would love the garden so much.

He had absolutely no interest in botany, but he had to admit that every inch of the lush field had some sort of an attraction to them. The smell in the air was sweet, which made sense with so many flowers around, and together with all of the greenery, bright blue sky and cool breeze, everything looked so peaceful inside. Animals would run around between humans unrestricted, and there's even a couple of carnivorous beasts that were content with lying down between little children having its stomach petted.

Some of them were now attached on Luffy even, who decided to sit down underneath one of the bigger trees when the animals started surrounding him. A couple of baby chicks were chirping on top of his strawhat - his favorite hat, a gift from Roger - with what Ace would presume to be their mother, an adult Sparrawk chortling on his shoulder. A Pan Python hung down from his left arm, seemingly enjoying Luffy's casual stroll and even seems to be dozing. Right behind him, a Tigerlion yawned, nudging on the boy's side before it laid his head back down on the ground again, fast asleep.

There were others, some bigger and some smaller, but no matter the size, none of them seems to want to do anything but mingle and play alongside humans.

"This garden's a damn weird place," Ace murmured, before turning to the weight on his right shoulder, where a Fire Phoenix sat. It stared at him back with a couple of beady eyes, the blood red, silky feather rustling as it cooed, as if replying to him.

He reach up and placed a finger underneath the bird's beak, rubbing the side of his finger along its neck and smooth bill. The bird let out a happy chirp.

"Well, since my brothers are kind of preoccupied, guess you get to keep me company, huh, buddy?"

* * *

By sundown, Ace felt like he had walked through ever inch of the garden, and yet there's still nothing. The story had said that the King buried his daughter in an unknown place, but so far, there was nothing around the garden that might indicate a grave of sorts. He had taken to asking a couple of people around, but most only retold the same legend all over again, or plainly told him that the whole story was just a folklore. There really was no treasure.

"Ugh, but if the garden in the story actually exist, there is no way the Princess' other gift was just a myth," the logia murmured to himself, crossing his arms in front of his chest. He turned to the bird on his shoulder, "Right, Marko?"

Again, Marko the Fire Phoenix only gave him a melodious chirp. It's not really useful, but his response will be duly noted.

"Are you looking for the gift from that story, young man?"

With an embarrassingly high pitched squeak, Ace turned around to see an old man right behind him, dressed in a rather faded clothing that had long since seen better days. He hadn't even notice that someone was right behind him, and when the old man walked closer, this cane made a rather noise click-clacks on the rocky pavement and wondered how he could've missed that, "Uh, yeah. But not this garden. You know, the 'better than rarest treasure' gift? The one the Princess brought with her to the grave,"

The last few times he had said that, the people he talked to had looked at him weirdly, and if he talked to anyone who looked like they could be twice his father's age, then they'll only smile and condescendingly told him that it's just a children's story. Yet this old man only hummed thoughtfully, his wrinkly, veiny hand reaching up to his long beard and stroking it down, "I see," he said in a shaky voice customary of a person his age, "What a coincidence, i too am looking for it,"

Ace's eyes widened, a hopeful smile blooming on his lips. Finally, "You are? Then, do you know about where it may b—"

"Watch it, kid! Get out of our way!"

The angry voice was extremely out of place in this peaceful garden and that immediately took Ace's attention. It didn't take him long to find that the shout had originated from a group of men just a few metres away from him, their stances aggressive and challenging, standing closely to crowd around a small figure in front of them.

A small figure that Ace knew for sure was where Luffy was a moment ago.

Without thinking, he ran over, already feeling his blood boiling over the thought of his brother being picked on, "Hey!" he barked, feeling fire already forming in the tip of his fingers. If those people harm even a single one of Luffy's hair, then they had him and his fire to answer to, "Leave my brother alone!"

One of the men turned, his expression predictably cocky when he caught sight of Ace, "Yeah? What are you going to do about it? The brat's in our way,"

"I was not!" Luffy protested, already standing up even if the rest of his body was hidden behind the other two men, "You guys were the one walking around kicking san and stuff, i was sleeping here first with these guys!"

It wasn't until Ace got even closer that he noticed something that missed his observation just minutes ago. When the man who addressed him fully turned, he could see a tattoo on the back of his arm, the tattoo that he knew now for sure belongs to a very familiar pirate crew, "You're with the Whitebeard pirates?" he hissed, though his flames dimmed slightly. If there are Whitebeard's men around here, then what are the chances…?

"What? Scared?" the first man asked mockingly, the oily smirk on his face growing wider before it slipped away when his eyes trailed lower, "… A fire logia?"

As he murmured that, his other two friends turned around, their attention no longer on Luffy but to Ace instead. The one in the middle, the largest of the bunch narrowed his eyes, "Hey, if you're a fire logia, then that makes you…," in a split second, there was a smirk on his face, a nastier sight on him than it was on his friend, especially as he began to cackle haughtily, "Look boys, i thought we're just going to mess around a little, but we caught ourselves a bigger fry than some old lady! Imagine our reputation on board if we manage to rough up Roger's little boy,"

By now, Ace could hear concerned whispers around him, and he figured people had heard what the other pirate had said, "I'd like to see you try,"

That was a challenge, and a challenge it was taken as.

The third guy, who had been quiet up until now, was the first one to charge, fist straight and aiming for Ace's face. It was such an amateur move that he could see it coming from miles away, and ducking away from it was much easier. Ace took a step back, letting the man's fist sail past him, before kicking his legs upward just in time to slam his knee on to the man's stomach. With a wet choke, he went down like a sack of potato.

But Ace didn't have much time to celebrate. Another fist was aimed at him, too fast for him to dodge, so in a split second, he dissipated away in a ball of fire, materializing just behind the attacker. With his target suddenly missing, the startled pirate let out a yelp before tripping over his friend's body and falling down. There was a loud crack as he landed, and with a little flinch at the sound, Ace realized he must've landed on his jaw. He actually felt a little bad about that.

Which was a big mistake, of course, because the last, burly man took his distraction as a chance to grab his shoulder, and as his vision spin, Ace could closely see an arm aimed down at him.

And stopping just barely from hitting him, "Don't hurt Ace, you bully!"

Luffy had somehow stretched and wrapped his arms around the much bigger pirates', preventing him from delivering that punch towards his older brother. He held on to it valiantly, giving Ace enough time to move away, but their opponent was much bigger than 15 years old Luffy, and the boy was easily flung to the side, arms and all, "Let me go, you little shit!"

"Luffy!"

Thankfully, the Tigerlion that pillowed him earlier managed to catch his fall, so Luffy was relatively unharmed. But that man had dared try to hurt his little brother, "You fucker," Ace hissed, concentrating his flames on to his right arm, allowing them to envelope his appendage and focusing his power on to the same arm, "I'll make you pa—Ah!"

"I don't think the locals would appreciate their garden being burned to crisp by a vengeful tourist," a familiar, accented voice said from right behind him, though Ace found that he did not need to even turn to see who it is, when he could see a flash of blue flame overpowering his own raging, red fire. Warm breath tickled his nape, as the figure behind him slowly lowered his arm, with his hand still around the logia's wrist, holding loose enough for Ace to be able to struggle but still tight enough that he know it won't be an easy struggle.

But it wasn't a struggle that Ace wanted to do, so with a yank, he pulled his arm free before turning around, and sure enough, right behind him stood Marco, looking exactly as how Ace remembered him from 2 months ago. Even down to the hooded eyes, easy smile, and the close proximity that made him hard to breath.

The bead necklace on Ace's neck suddenly felt very and he became very conscious of their existence, especially when Marco's eyes trailed down to them and his lips curled even more, "Ah, i was right," the blond man murmured, his voice low enough that Ace was sure only he could hear it. His breath hitched when the man came even closer, head bowed down slightly just right next to Ace's ear.

"They really do suit you, Ace,"

* * *

 **Bestiary - Grand Line, Paradise:**

A Sparrawk is a small bird with a very fierce face and strong beak, one of the smallest meat eating avians in the world. It would use its small stature to lure a prey into a false sense of superiority, and when jumped, it will jump on it would be predator instead. They also like to swoop down on larger animal and killing it with a devastating blow from their massive beaks, like a mini bullet.

Extra Note: Like many birds, these are Oviparous animals (Animals that lays eggs)

A Pan Python is a snake with a flat rectangular shape on its top half just below the bulbous shaped head. A very, very flat snake, its body shape allows it to flat their body down on the ground, hiding it away from plain sight of prey and predator. Since they're mostly tame and non-venomous, they're also very fun to play with. If held by the tail and wiggled around, their stretchy skin makes a 'woop-woop-woop' sound and it's very satisfying to hear.

Extra Note: As reptiles, they are Ovoviviparous animals (Animals who hatched their eggs inside their body)

A Tigerlion is a striped feline with giant mane, though only the males has them and their stripes are vertical. The female's stripes are horizontal. These animals are very territorial. If a female Tigerlion ever saw another female Tigerlion staring at her mate, the first female will issue a fight that involved a lot of scratching and roaring insults because no one stares a this tigerlioness' man like that.

Extra Note: Like other mammals, these animals are Viviparous (Animals who gave birth)

Fire Phoenix isn't really the mythical creature Phoenix (or else, it won't be a mythical creature, now would it), it's just a species of bird which remains crumbled into ashes as it dies, as if it had been burned by fire and closely resembled the bird of myth. And no, it cannot be revived, unlike the mythological Phoenix. For more information on the mythological Phoenix, go to the related the bestiary series 'Bestiary - Mythology', or find Marco the Phoenix, Whitebeard Pirates' First Division Commander, a Phoenix Zoan.

Extra Note: The editor would not guarantee the safety of anyone who dared to go up to a _Yonko Commander_ to ask about his reproduction methods. A source who do not wish to be named but wished to be noted that he has the most excellent hairstyle on board of Moby Dick has claimed him to be Oviparous, but this source goes missing afterwards and only contacted us again to deliver an apology and retraction of his statement so he could avoid further unholy bird wrath. We will still publish this valuable information for the good of science, however, and wish the source with the great hair luck.

* * *

For some reason i'm putting much more thought into that little 'epilogue' in the end than the fic itself.

Eh.

Thank you so much for reading and i hoped you liked it! Please let me know what you think, i will start giving this fic (not regular) updates too because hey! Muse is back! Kinda.


	5. Chapter 5

Hello, enjoy the update with some pull-from-ass justification on how a future in OP universe would be if Roger never died and is still Pirate King. I never claimed to be a good writer, ok.

* * *

13 years later, Ace still remembered the first time he left Foosha behind to follow his father and his crew. He hadn't been as loud as Luffy or as openly in awe as Sabo, but the view of the large blue expanse that is the sea from atop Oro Jackson's deck was a wonder that made him speechless from where he sat on top of Roger's shoulder.

The view of the seemingly never-ending blue expanse had been amazing, but it was the smell that got to him first. The unmistakable earthy breeze, lightly dancing over his skin and available to him the way it couldn't in any cliff beyond the forest where he used to live. It's the kind of cold that doesn't make his head and nose hurt, not the kind of wind that could make his skin shiver uncomfortably, and he couldn't have enough of it. He remembered his father laughing after he spread both of his arms, feeling the wind shift as the ship sped up and embarked from Foosha's port, and know for the rest of his life, he'll associate that smell with freedom.

It's the same smell he caught now clinging onto Marco, the scent of seawater worn like a prized cologne, and along with it was something else, something cool, like the air in every winter island, a smell that became stronger when the blonde's fire died out, leaving only the barest wisp from his skin. Right underneath it all, there was another scent lingering, subtle, disarming, much like the man himself.

It was at that point that Ace realized if he could catch all of that then he's standing all too close, and staggered backward.

In reply, Marco raised a brow, before his little smirk grew just a fraction, clearly amused.

"Ha! You're shit out of luck, kid," an obnoxiously loud voice called from behind him, reminding Ace of his current situation. Gritting his teeth, Ace turned around, catching sight of the arrogant pirate he had been dealing with just before Marco suddenly swooped in out of nowhere. Right behind the bastard's massive build, he could see Luffy dusting his pants and being helped up by the Tigerlion who caught him, "The Commander's going to teach you a lesson for messing with us, right, Commander Marco?"

Ace swivelled, quickly realizing his mistake of turning his back to an enemy, because it doesn't matter if they worked together once - in a sense, at least - Marco was still from a rival crew. But he didn't even get to turn when Marco passed by him in a slow pace, making his way over to his gloating _nakama._

Then in a burst of flame, turned his leg into a glowing talon and proceed to send the man flying with a single kick.

Screams of surprise rose from everywhere around the park. Ace himself felt taken back by the sudden action, and even felt himself flinching when the pirate landed face first - thankfully on a patch of grass - with a resounding thud. When he lifted his head, the muscled, well built man looked confused and almost in fear of his life when his Zoan Commander suddenly began walking closer, sharp talons scraping on the ground, "What did i say this morning?" Marco spoke, his voice the very definition of tranquil fury. Ace could hear it simply from the way he gritted his words, "Don't go looking around causing havoc, especially not to civilians. We're only here to lay low,"

With a whimper, the injured pirate scrambled to both stand up and get away from Marco. Only, he wasn't quick enough, and was once again slammed down on his back. Hearing him choke and sputter actually made Ace feel a smidgen of worry, remembering that the last time he saw Marco pinned someone down in that exact same method, the man died in a couple of seconds. Surely, he won't be cruel enough to kill someone from his own crew, right?

"Ace, Ace!" a small blur of red and black suddenly crushed itself against Ace's midsection, startling him out of staring at Marco and the unfortunate Whitebeard pirate. He looked down to see Luffy, a bit of sand clinging to his cheek and grinning so widely it was only made possible because he's a rubber Paramecia. He lifted one hand to wipe the dirt on his brother's cheek, while said brother began jumping and pointing at the spectacle just a few feet away, "That pineapple-head-bird-guy is so cool! He kicked the bully until he's flying, and he has fire like you!"

Evidently, Luffy's voice had been much louder than Ace expected, because from his periphery, he saw Marco twitched and half-turned to where he and Luffy stood with a very displeased expression on his face. For a moment, Ace thought he's hearing Luffy and going to turn his anger at them - in which, Ace was ready to push Luffy away and catch the brunt himself - but there was a glint on Marco's eyes when he caught sight of Luffy and Ace tightening his grip around the younger.

A glint that suddenly disappeared, replaced by a tense gaze. Without looking back to the still whimpering pirate, he let the man go, "I'll report this incident to Vista. As your division commander, i'll be sure he gives you the appropriate punishment for your disobedience,"

The man stood up, and Ace began to piece together the reason behind Marco's rigid stare when the pirate sat up and turned as white as sheet, looking at something behind him.

In his hold, the raven haired logia felt Luffy curling his hand on the top of his pants, "Uh oh,"

Ace turned, and sure enough, he saw Roger right behind him, nose ridiculously red in a near imitation to Buggy's, though the radiating aura he gave would've wiped away the thought of making fun of it. His iconic red jacket flapped against the blowing wind as he walked behind Ace and Luffy, arms crossed as he kept his level stare, presumably to Marco. For a moment, no one spoke, not even a single whisper from the crowd that began to move away, not wanting to be caught by the possible clash that might ensue and yet couldn't quite making themselves scarce.

In that silence, it was Marco who spoke first, voice calm and curt "Pops and Moby are not here, and those who are here are only stocking up before we meet up with them. We're not looking for trouble,"

"Your men attacked my boys," as if to emphasis his point, Roger placed a hand on top of Luffy's dark hair, ruffling it slightly in the same fatherly way he always would, even if his expression was far from friendly. He glanced to the other 2 men, the ones Ace had defeated, "You know the rules, Phoenix. You don't attack someone from another pirate crew without declaring war between your crews,"

Though the World Government would have the general public believe that pirates were without honour and law, the truth couldn't be much further than that. There are some sets of rules followed by every pirate crew, the same rules that established alliances and rivals, the kind of rule made between the 4 _Yonko_ , each with the ability to cause destruction into an entire island, even the whole sea. The discovery of One Piece has made Roger the undisputed King, and it was with the power he attained from One Piece that he established the rule unto the 4 strongest pirates in the sea, and subsequently, to everyone who called themselves pirates.

(At least, that was what Shanks told him once. To this day, Ace never knew of this One Piece or what it was supposed to be, only that it was a treasure of such immense power that it made his father the most feared man in the seas. Only he and perhaps Rayleigh knows the real form of One Piece, something that they would always omit despite being very generous with any other story from their journey before the trio joined in on their ship.)

One rule, one his father was most adamant about, was that regarding the act of violence against another pirate from a different crew. It was the reason why Big Mom has never tried anything unsavoury in her attempt to get Ace to be her son-in-law, it's why Kaido, arguably the most violent of the _Yonko_ , targets anyone but his fellow _Yonko_ , and that was why Whitebeard and Gol D. Roger has agreed to keep their distance away from each other's crew.

Roger had once said that instead of searching for One Piece, it was defeating him that has become most pirates' goal, in order to rob him away from the treasure. It was the reason of Big Mom's fervent attempts, there are moments that Kaido nearly crossed the line in his will to attain it, when some of the rouge _Shichibukai_ would use their position as a guise in hope to defeat him, and he claims he knows for sure it was the reason why the World Government wanted his head so badly.

Yet, out of everyone, it was Whitebeard Roger know for sure never dishonoured that one rule, and it was this that has stopped anyone from openly attacking Roger Pirates for decades. If the second strongest man in the seas will not come after him, then no one would.

To everyone watching, civilians alike, should someone make the first move, this would only seem like a fight for retaliation. But the gravity of the situation is much, much deeper than that.

Ace saw Marco gritting his teeth, jaw clenching tight.

"Dad," the logia blurted out, voice a little too loud and made it very apparent that he's uncomfortable with the situation. Roger turned to him, face relaxing by a fraction when his eyes met his son's, "It's… it's not that big of a deal. Those idiots who attacked Luffy are just doing it on their own even though they're told not to, and not under Whitebeard's command or something. Plus," Ace glanced up, meeting Marco's eyes to find it already staring at him. He pursed his lips, forgetting what he was about to say for a second, "Plus, Mar— _Phoenix_ said he's going to have them punished for this, isn't that enough?"

From his periphery, Ace is well aware that Marco had turned his attention to him, and tried his best to keep his gaze to his father's.

Roger blinked a couple of times, still quiet, his long moustache twitching every so often as he inhaled roughly, his flu still very much evident. Ace almost forgot he was actually sick after seeing him earlier.

In the end, the Pirate King cleared his throat - and coughed several times - before turning back to the blonde zoan commander. His expression was much less severe from before, like a funny parody of a commanding aura instead of actually having a commanding aura like he did when he first arrived, "Hmph, fine. I'll forget what happen today and pretend that we didn't cross paths," the hand on Luffy's hand travelled up, curling around Ace's cheek and pinching them with his every cooing word, "And only because that's my sweet, clever, forgiving lovely baby boy's wish,"

"Ugh, dad!"

In front of him, Luffy snickered, which didn't last long when Roger's other hand was placed on his cheeks too, the rubbery consistency of Luffy's skin making him able to both pinch and pull, "Are you okay, Luffy? Hmm, not a scratch on you at least. Oh, my bouncy marshmallow, i'm sorry i wasn't here quick enough to stop them, i would've ripped them apart if they did,"

"Roger, let me go, my cheeks hurts!"

The man didn't, only slowing down a bit as he looked up again. Ace pulled away a little, and when he lifted his head, he found himself looking at Marco. The blond's expression wasn't as guarded and cautious as before, and there is no mistaking the amused glint in his eyes when he caught Ace's eyes. Before he could react, the dark haired male felt his cheek caught in pincher-like grip again, "You better punish your men good, Phoenix. You're lucky my little fire angel is feeling forgiving or i wouldn't have hesitated,"

At the term 'fire angel', Ace caught the not so hidden twitch on Marco's lips, like he was trying to keep himself from laughing. The young logia felt his face heating up as if he had lit them on fire, "I'll assure you this will never happen again," Marco gave them a simple bow, just a quick nod of his head. But when he look up again, his eyes were entirely on Ace, lips curled. It was only a flash before he turned back and grabbed his subordinate by the back of his collar, dragging him and ignoring the man's terrified pleads. The other two men, already awake in the midst of the tension, followed slowly behind the purple clad commander, head bowed.

With Luffy distracting Roger by giving him his apology present - 3 large skewers of seasoned goateep roast, and a small bottle of crystal-rice sake, his favorite - Ace didn't really know just how long he stood there, watching until Marco's back completely disappeared in the crowd, his hand absentmindedly fiddling with his necklace.

* * *

"And this is what happen when you get out of bed after i told you not to. Honestly, Roger, for someone who complains all the times about the kids sneaking out, you're not being a very good role model,"

Crocus' admonishment was drowned by the sound of Roger's sneeze and coughs, which was only ended by a pathetic little sniffle. Ace tuned out Luffy's very animated retelling of the earlier event to Sabo ("So Ace hit them like _POW!_ and then i hold that big meanie like _this,_ of but then, but then, that pineapple-head-bird-guy just walk up and _BAM!_ and the guy went sailing! It was great!", "Did you just call a _Yonko_ Commander 'pineapple-head-bird-guy'?") to the bed, just in time to see Roger blew his nose loudly into a flimsy piece of tissue. He winced at the noise.

And at the poor tissue's state when Roger lifted it, covered fully in snot and whatever that is that makes the colour _green._ Doctor Crocus silently handed him a waste basket, only shaking his head when Roger began speaking again, "It's not my fault! I got this weird bad feeling, and you two know i only have that kind of feeling if any of my children are in danger, so i have to find them! Scopper Gaban's team reported back that they can see a ship with Whitebeard Pirate's flag on the other end of the island, i have to assume the worst,"

He calmed down significantly after Crocus gave him a dose of medicine and was slowly helped to lay down the bed. The old doctor placed down the medicine bottle as well as a new roll of tissue next to a full glass of water on the bedside table, "Well, the good news is, your fever's gone down and if you have plenty of rest and drink plenty of water, you should be back in no time,"

Roger let out a groan, shifting around to find a comfortable position to sleep on his back, "Finally,"

"Well, you're not exactly 40 anymore, Roger, we're now at the age when just a tiny virus can take a lot out of us," Crocus patted down his shirt before he walked away, turning as he approached the three boys by the entrance, "Come now, children, let him have his sleep,"

Sabo and Luffy nodded, moving to follow Crocus out when Ace spoke, staring at the figure of his dozing father on the bed, "I'm going to stay, just until he fell asleep. In case he needs anything," he walked over to the bed not waiting for an answer from the ship's physician, but from the clicking sound of closed door and the lack of sound outside, he presumed he's got Crocus' permission anyway. He occupied the Crocus' empty seat by Roger's bedside, moving his gaze to watch the stuttering rise and lowering of his father's chest.

With a noisy, wet inhale, Roger flickered his eyes open, already looking bleary. His dark brown eyes found Ace's stormy grey ones, and he chuckled deeply reaching out one hand and placing it on his son's knee. Ace in return, moved the chair closer to the bed, "You know i actually saw the beginning of that fight," he said, his words holding a hint of pride in them, "Good footwork, and great quick thinking. You just need to concentrate a little more about your surrounding, but you're still young, you'll learn,"

Ace could feel the corners of his lips twitching, genuinely pleased. So his dad had been in the crowd, and watched long enough to see with his own eyes that he could take care of himself. That's great, it's not quite 'finding a rare treasure and proving that he's a capable pirate on his own' kind of great, but it's good to remind his father he can hold off his own, "Thanks, dad,"

The hand on his knee began rubbing along his calf. Roger let out a sigh, "I wish you didn't have to. No one wanted their child to ever be in a position where he had to be hurt or have people who wanted to hurt them. That's why i'm trying so hard to keep you, Sabo and Luffy away from that part of this life," the bed-ridden man sighed, while Ace bowed his head down silently, "And i know you didn't like that. You wanted to be free, to be let go on your own, you're," Roger paused, a melancholic sigh that escaping him, and Ace looked up just enough to catch sight of his father's misty eyes, "You're just like your mother,"

There was only one time that his father ever openly talked about Portgas D. Rouge, his mother, and Ace remembered that after sending him to bed that night, Roger would weep by his bedside, a wound that seems so old yet obviously still hurt. There's a picture of her on his desk, a young woman with red hair and the same freckles that littered Ace's cheeks, a resemblance that sealed their relation to one another. It was only the moment the two of them were alone, truly alone, that Roger would mention her, saying how Ace grew to look like her, how his attitude reminded him of her, that he wished she could be here and without even saying it verbally, Ace knew within those words, that he missed her dearly.

"That's why i wanted to protect you so much, Ace. It's a dangerous world out there, beyond your expectation or your wildest dream. That world has robbed me of your mother, robbed me of the one woman i love more than anything and once upon a time, i thought they also robbed me of you. Now that i have you back, i couldn't… i couldn't bear to think if i let one more person i love slip away from my hands like that. I wouldn't be able to face your mother in the afterlife if i let her boy got hurt. "

"Dad…,"

But Ace couldn't think of a word to say. All of his rebellious spirit, any argument he may have that has accumulated in his head in his daily life, or just the mere objection of thinking about his father and afterlife in the same sentence just abruptly disappear at his father's expression. He looked so vulnerable, nothing like the man that brought silence to the entire park earlier, the feared man that he is from one corner of the world to another. Like this, he appeared frail and weathered by the world, looking like the 73 years old man that he is.

Roger had always been a majestic presence, so much that people, even Ace himself, forgot that it has been over 20 years since he was crowned the 'Pirate King'. It doesn't matter if you're the strongest man on earth, time was the undefeated and cruelest enemy of all.

The hand on Ace's knee moved again, rubbing up and down twice before the owner spoke, "That being said, i would be fine with you taking care of small time, clearly inexperienced rookies like that. I know you're capable to handle that much," his lips suddenly twisted, as if he was thinking something unpleasant, "But someone like Marco the Phoenix was another matter entirely,"

The bead necklace around his neck shifted as Ace shifted on his seat uncomfortably, and he hoped Roger didn't caught the hitch in his breath.

Thankfully, Roger didn't seem to, but he sat up slightly, eyes stern as he looked straight into Ace's own, "Listen to me, Ace. I know Edward well, and know he will keep his men in line, but right now, he's just as old as i am and i know that he's been having health issues. That means he'll have Marco as the one mostly running his ship. Edward i can predict, but Marco's always been the elusive sort, the brains behind Edward - much like Ray is to me - and i don't know him well enough to trust him. For all i know, those men of his hadn't been acting on their own accord,"

Oddly enough, Ace's first reaction to this was to say that 'Marco is not like that'. Thankfully he managed to catch himself in time, realizing that he himself didn't really know the man that much. So he helped Ace once, and he gave him a present, but that was about it. Not enough grounds to suddenly start coming to the defense on someone's character.

Instead, Ace nodded, pushing the thought away from his mind, "I get it, dad,"

Roger nodded firmly, and opened his mouth again before he started coughing. Ace quickly reached for the water glass, but his father's hand signalled him to stop, "Ugh, i hate being sick," the greying man said hoarsely, crudely wiping his lips and whatever spit flew out during his little episode with his sleeve. He took another deep breath, then when his eyes found Ace's again, he let out a boyish laugh, lips widely grinning underneath his drooping moustache, "Aw, don't look at me like that, my boy. I'll be fine! It's just a stupid fl-f- _achoo!"_

 _"Dad! Ew!"_ Ace yelped in disgust when saliva and the likes - is that snot?! - flew and landed on his face and naked torso.

Instead of apologizing, Roger's laughter rang throughout the room, and mad as he looked externally, Ace couldn't really find it in him to be truly angry.

* * *

Deep in his sleep, Roger looked peaceful and well rested.

It took a while for his father to finally sleep - and Ace had the feeling that it was caused by Crocus' medicine than anything else - but once he did, Ace found himself still sitting in the now quiet captain's quarter, one hand holding his father's on the bed. Sighing quietly, Ace untangled their hands and reached up to press the back of his to the older man's forehead. He's definitely not feverish anymore, which is a relief, and his breath during sleep was a lot less clogged than it had been the past few days. Crocus did say he's getting better, and from the looks of it, he should be well in 1 or 2 days.

"Good night, dad," Ace murmured, patting Roger's arm gently before standing up and making his way out of the quarters.

It was later than he thought when Ace finally stepped out, that dinner was near its end and the cafetaria staff was busy cleaning the last of the plates. He had the chef bring him out anything that's still left and helped them finish it without having to throw food away, and once he was done, he left again, stomach full and making his way to his and his brothers' bedroom.

Only, Ace didn't reach that far when he caught sight of something peculiar.

From the deck where he stood, he could see that at this time of the night, the entire town was quiet and dark with barely any illumination, except for one place. Right at the entrance of the port, just a few metres away from where Oro Jackson was anchored, there's a single source of light floating rather eerily, swaying side by side even though there's barely any wind blowing right now. Curious, Ace walked over to the rails, leaning his body on the wooden structure to get a better look.

Standing between where the wooden path of the port transitioned into the stone roads of Gardenia, Ace saw an elderly man holding a lantern, the source of the light, swinging it side by side. He merely stood there silently and doing nothing else, and it took Ace a while to realize he recognized the man. It was the same person who talked to him about wanting to find the Princess' other treasure in the gardens earlier today, right before the whole event with Luffy and the Whitebeard Pirates.

With a quickly glance to his surrounding, making sure no one saw him, Ace transformed his entire body into his fruit's element, and the giant fire ball burst down from the top of Oro Jackson to the port below. He quickly turned back and extinguish his flame before anyone could see him, but by the time he was done, the old man and his lantern was nowhere to be found.

"What?" the young man muttered to himself, confusingly looking from side to side to see if the man had moved someplace else. But there was nothing along the beach or the part of the town that he could see from where he stood, not a single light that could be anything like a lantern. Which is impossible, because it only took him a few seconds to get down here, there is no way a man that elderly could move and disappear that fast, 'Where could he be?"

Seeing that old man again reminded him of the folklore and the treasure. He mentioned that he was looking for it as well, so unlike everyone else Ace had asked, perhaps he'd be more willing to entertain his question. Heck, maybe he'd know more about the story than everyone else.

Pursing his lips, Ace glanced up to the peacefully floating Oro Jackson, noting the brief glimpse of light on deck that must've come from night patrol and whoever was still awake at this hour. He recalled his conversation with his father, and clenched his fist.

He needs to find that old man and find that treasure. He needs to convince his father that he'll be fine on his own.

* * *

In the end, after what he was sure had been an hour worth of searching, Ace couldn't find the old man. Instead, his search has brought him back into the Princess' Gift garden, no longer the colourful radiant place it was this morning but blanketed by the darkness of the night and only dimly lit by the few in between lamps along the walkway. There wasn't a single person seen as Ace made his way inside, the only sound that he could hear being his own footsteps and the quiet noise of nature itself.

"Old man?" he called out, lighting up his hand in order to be able to see his way better, "Are you here? It's me, i'm the one you talked to this morning,"

There was no answer, but the wind began to pick up a little, tickling along his naked skin. Ace kept walking, eyes darting from one side to the other in hope to catch a glimpse of light different from his own.

"Old man?"

He pulled to a stop when another noise suddenly could be heard, the sound of rustling of leaves prickling his ear. Ace gave his surrounding another wary glance before he determined the source to be above him, and slowly, he looked up to the tree that he had stopped next to, to the thick foliage right on top of him, where he could see something popping out of the leaves. That very same thing glided down, and it didn't take long for Ace to recognize it and grinned, "Marko! You're still here!"

Marko the Fire Phoenix cawed, floating just above his head and Ace quickly extended his non-fiery arm to allow the avian to perch on him. The red-feathered bird landed on his shoulder, his little talons scratching his skin lightly as the bird made itself comfortable. It cooed happily when Ace lifted his finger to pet it on the top of its head and its chest, "Aw, i was so worried when you just disappeared earlier, so this is where you've been. Say, you didn't happen to see anyone else around aside from me, have you?"

The bird only chirped, its head tilting from side to side. Oh well, it was worth a try.

Minutes later, it wasn't just Marko who accompanied him in searching for the mysterious old man from this morning, he was joined with a grey Jackwolf puppy that kept yipping and trotting by his feet, a Heart-wing Butterfly that Ace could feel moved around on his hair, a Tigerlion that seems bigger than the one that was with Luffy this morning, and from the hissing and jingling from behind him, Ace could see that despite its lack of legs, the Bell Snake still managed to keep up with his pace. But then, he wasn't walking all that fast, eyes searching for the old man and possible some clues he might have missed earlier.

But in the end, even after he had circled around the vast garden and gained even more animal followers, there was absolutely no other human being aside from him. Frustrated and a little tired, Ace sat himself down on one of the benches on the side of the walkway, careful of the Butterfly on his hair before knocking his head backward and groaning. A cold little nudge on his cheek told him that it was Marko's beak pressing to him, and he lifted up his hand to pat the bird.

"Uuugh, where could he have gone to?" he moaned to his 'entourage', all who had also sat down next to him on the bench of on the floor in front of him. The Jackwolf puppy took this opportunity to climb to his lap and sat there, cutting off a miniature Catynx that meowed in annoyance, "And where could the princess' other treasure might be?"

The animals let out variations of sounds, none that was particularly helpful, but if Ace didn't know any better, he'd say they're trying to comfort him. When Marko nudge his cheek agains with its head, Ace turned to the bird, lips downturned exaggeratedly, "Marko, where did you think that treasure might be? That 'better than rarest treasure' gift? I reeeally want to find it,"

Sighing again, Ace turned to the group of animals around him, from the Jackwolf that started climbing his chest to the Catynx licking its paw on the seat next to him, to the Tigerlion leaning on a dozing Minocow calf, the Bell Snake that finally found a good place to rest around the neck of the blue and yellow Phoenix like a scarf, the purring exotic two-tailed Inuneko that wiggled its tail before pouncing on a barely reacting adult Jackwolf, presumably related to the puppy on his chest. Ace giggled at the cute sight, before turning down to the yipping puppy and tried to—

…Wait, _blue and yellow_ Phoenix?

Ace snapped his head up, to see the Phoenix staring at him with its ringed eyes, the entirety of its features now all too recognizable the longer Ace stared.

Then the Phoenix let out a chortle, and _spoke, "_ You named her after me then? I'm flattered,"

The scream that Ace let out could probably be heard all the way to Mariejois.

* * *

This chapter was supposed to be much more Marco/Ace oriented, but i want to write about Roger and Ace and decided i might as well do that and make the next chap just purely Marco/Ace. So... ye.

Thanks for reading and i hope you liked it! Lemme know what you think so far!


	6. Chapter 6

"You know, that actually hurts,"

Immature as his behaviour is, Ace let out a loud 'Hmph!' and pointedly kept his face turned away as far as he could from the source of the voice, even though his neck was starting to hurt from the strain. The Jackwolf he's cradling let out a little yip, nuzzling its head against his naked chest the more he scratched the bottom of the puppy's jaw.

After a while and nobody said another word, he discreetly took a peek over his shoulder, on the other edge of the bench where Marco had sat himself, the rejected Catynx from earlier sleeping on his lap and his half lidded eyes clearly watching Ace in amusement. There's only remnants of blue wisp on his lower jaw, healing what he was sure would've been a bruise on any other person from his precise, all-out, and admittedly rather panicked fire punch. Whose fault is it for scaring him like that?

Well, not 'scared', per se. Just shocked.

Yeah, that's it.

The younger sniffed, making sure that his 'Hmph!' is a lot louder in the quietness of the night, "As if anything can actually hurt you,"

"Contrary to popular belief, i can actually feel pain, it's just that i healed afterwards,"

From Marco's shoulder, because apparently Ace had been surrounded by traitors the entire time, Marko the Fire Phoenix let out a happy chirp. He heard the blond _Yonko_ Commander chuckle, "See, my namesake here understands as well,"

"Okay, for the records, i didn't named it after y—"

"Her. She is a lady, Ace, be respectful,"

"—Who are you to tell anyone to be respectful," Ace grumbled irritably, "Well, i didn't name _her_ after you. _Her_ name is Marko, with a K,"

"Ah yes, that definitely wasn't derived from my name at all,"

Ace scoffed, "Exactly,"

Around them, the wind had began to pick up. Most of the animals were huddled together, some of the smaller ones seeking heat underneath the adult Jackwolf's thick fur, where he had sat himself just beneath Ace's feet like a furry comforter. Ace raised his body's temperature, allowing enough heat to seep without actually emitting any fire, and he could hear the animal letting out what sounds to be a happy sigh.

"So, you were saying something about treasures?"

Marco's voice came far closer than it had been a while ago, and it took all of the fire logia's will not to jump at the sudden proximity. There's only a sliver of space between them on the bench, close enough that the Catynx on Marco's lap only need to make a tiny leap over to Ace's and started snuggling and purring against him. Seems like it was attracted to his increased temperature as well, "That's none of your business," the younger gritted, trying to scoot away until he remembered all of the animals dozing and sleeping on him. The man next to him might be annoying, but he's not disturbing these poor animals' rest.

"That so? Too bad," the blond pirate hum, the corners of his lips twitching, "You sounded interested in the Princess' Last Gift and i know where to look for it, but i supposed it is none of my—"

"Wait, you know where it is?"

The smug look on Marco's face was entirely unappreciated. Ace made sure he made that clear by scowling, which went entirely ignored, "Well, not where it is specifically, but i do know where you can start looking for it instead of roaming around a garden in the dead of night," his infuriating smirk goes even wider, "But i thought this is none of my business?"

"Shut it, just tell me!" One puppy in his arms whined when Ace rocked him too hard, and the young logia apologized with a guilty stroke along its scruffy fur, "And what do you mean, the Princess' Last Gift? Is that what it's called?"

Feeling the animals snuggling closer to him, Ace heat up his body a little bit more, even lighting one of his free hand and letting it be engulfed in fire to let it hover above the trembling bodies weighing him down. The move was subtle, but he could see from his periphery that Marco also moved closer, his eyes following the sway of his flame, "It's what the locals and pirates would call it, long back when it was one of the most searched treasures throughout the seas. But for so many years, everyone who came here to look for it always came back empty handed and was more interested in this garden than the other treasure mentioned in the folklore. Eventually, the Last Gift was dismissed as nothing more than a fairytale and this place became a tourist attraction rather than the treasure hunting hotspot it once was,"

"They dismissed it just like that?"

"Well, this garden here is certainly much more mysterious than any treasure could be," Marco told him, before reaching over to the head of the Jackwolf puppy in Ace's embrace to ruffle the top of its furry head, "A place where predators and prey alike mingled together, as if there's some mysterious power at work here that kept them calm and docile. Even in the New World, it's quite a mysterious phenomenon,"

As if to further emphasize on his points, Marko - The more he thinks about it, the more Ace wondered if he should just give her a new name - flew down from her perch on Marco's shoulder and land on top of Ace's wrist, just right next to the puppy. In any other wilderness he knew, Jackwolves were some of the more vicious predators, preying on any animals in the vicinity of their colony, but those same predators he had seen today had only been playing around and sleeping with the animals they were supposed to be hunting for.

The puppy let out a yip, tongue lolling out and smattering saliva across Ace's naked chest while it tried to lick Marco's fingers again, looking extremely content with its current predicament. That behaviour is unlike the ruthless animals their kind were supposed to be.

With narrowed eyes, the young logia turned to the man next to him, "But you somehow know where to look for it? Even though you said so many people couldn't?"

Instead of answering him, Marco only smiled, "I have certain advantages many didn't," he merely said cryptically, "Question is, why are you so interested in this treasure? You didn't strike me as someone who is interested in riches. For all you know, it might just be a children bedtime story than anything real," The question was asked with only a hint of amusement underneath the genuine curiousity, all which seems to be amplified by hundred folds when Ace made the mistake of instantly clamping up at the question. He watched the blond man's eyebrows quirk upwards along with the devious curl of his lips, "Hmm? What was that?"

"I don't have to answer that," Ace bit out, cursing the fact that he could feel his face heating up. There is no goddamn way he's telling this man anything, especially not after giving him the shock - he refused, absolutely refuse to call it 'scaring him' - of his life and when he's looking that smug about all of this. Ugh, what a punchable face.

Not really.

He heals quickly. It sucks.

Several of their animal companions made low noises when suddenly Marco rose up from his seat in one languid movement, "Ah, then there's no reason for me to help you either. Good luck looking around,"

"W-what?!" Marko and the Jackwolf puppy squeaked when Ace abruptly stood up as well, almost screeching at the other man's retreating back, "You can't tell me all of that and just walk away! What sort of monster are you?!"

Marco paused on his tracks, peering over his shoulder, "I can," he replied simply, and even though his face isn't filly visible, Ace can just hear the obnoxious smile from his words alone, "I only work with people who'll work with me too. No sense in keeping anything one sided,"

"W-well, maybe i don't actually need your help! I'll find that starting place myself!"

"You sure? You've only been wandering around this place the whole night. At that rate, you'll find it in about 50 years or so,"

"I—" Ace gritted his teeth, clutching the wriggling, fury body in his hold tighter, "I need that treasure to prove myself to my dad,"

From the soft scratch on the ground, he'd guess that it was the sound of the older man turning around, not that Ace could see it when he purposefully stared down at the happily panting puppy in his arms just to avoid looking at him. Marco has a point; Ace didn't even know the first thing there is to know about what he wanted to look for and he need all the help he could get, especially from someone who seems to know more than him.

If only admitting that doesn't feel like a sound defeat.

"You saw earlier this morning, didn't you? He treats me like a kid, calls me humiliating nicknames, acting like i'm 5 instead of over 20. Everyone that cross our way had seen it, and nobody would ever take me seriously, not pirates, not marines, and most of the times, not even the civilians in our territory," the dark haired youth plopped back down to his seat, shoulder sagging, "And that even leaks down to how he treats me as a pirate. I'm never one of the Roger Pirates, i'm just his kid,"

"You are his son, though,"

"Then he should've treated me like one and actually trust me as much as he trusted his crews, shouldn't he? I'm as much a pirate as them, i've shown him that i'm just as strong, if not stronger, but dad doesn't care about that! He'd tell me to stay behind, to stay of out danger so i won't get hurt, sometimes even going as far as to fight my fights for me, do you know how embarrassing that is? What's the point of ever bringing me to his ship if i can't be one of them?" he huffed, feeling more winded than he should be, before sighing and softly adding, "What's even the point of this mark on my back, if he won't treat me like an actual part of his crew?"

Roger had cried a storm when Ace first revealed the tattoo to him, but then, Ace had thought that maybe he was proud of what he grew to become, and wanting to follow on his footsteps. Yet months afterwards, after Ace had gotten used to keeping it uncovered and revealing what he was to the world, Roger told him while drunk that he wished Ace hadn't gotten it, because it painted a 'fucking big target on his back'.

"Don't get me wrong, i love it, it's such a cute gesture from my cute son," the captain said in a slurred voice, before the stupidly happy look on his face suddenly fell into a grim line, "But no one else would find it as cute as i did. Aaah, you're making Daddy worried sick about you again, Ace. But don't worry, my little sugarcube, i'd protect ya, Daddy'll do anything to protect ya,"

Just remembering that incensed him to no end.

"I love my Dad, but i'm sick of him babying me, and i'm sick of him thinking that i can't take care of myself. That's why i need that treasure. If i can find a treasure so rare, that no one in hundreds of years could find, then i've proven myself to be a much better pirate than he ever give me credit for. At some point, he's got to admit it,"

As if sensing his plummeting mood, the puppy in his arm yipped and licked the back of Ace's hand. Marko hopped around his wrist and chirped, sounding almost concerned had he knew no better. It made him smile, even if just by a fraction.

But then, suddenly there was a burst of blue somewhere off from his periphery, one that made the animals around him squeak and yowl. Ace look up just as Marko spread her wings and flew off, gliding over towards the large avian resembling her kind that now stood where Marco was before. She looked comically small compared to the Phoenix Zoan, perching on top of the flaming head and letting out a burst of happy sing-song chirps, like a hearty and pleasant greeting.

The Phoenix regarded her with his own low chirrups, ruffling his glowing feathers that shone brighter in the dark of night, "My crew and i will leave once sunrise comes, so we don't have much time," It turns to Ace with a half-lidded gaze, human language tumbling out between those long and sharp beaks as it gestured to his back, lowering himself closer to the ground, "Hop on. It's much faster than walking,"

Stunned, Ace nodded dumbly, putting the whimpering puppy down on the bench before jogging over to the Phoenix. The bird ruffled his feather, tilting his body to make it easier for Ace to climb up his back. Once he was fully seated, he held onto the base of the long neck and the slope of the wide shoulder, feeling wisp of cold fire tickling the surface of his palm. The last two time he had been in this position had been in the middle of a dire situation, and wondered if that's why he hadn't really noticed the fact that the Phoenix was covered in fire rather than feather.

Fascinated, the logia ran his hand down from the shoulder and down to the zoan's back, sides and even the base of the wings. It almost felt like his own flames. Not to mention how sleek the avian's body was, strong, yet clearly built for speed. He had a few encounters with zoans, enemies and allies alike, but he never had the chance to actually see them this up close.

His hand had even reached the ringed tail on the back, a little surprised by how solid they are compared to the rest of the Phoenix's body when a voice called out, amused, "I'd appreciate it if my passenger is actually trying to hold on for safety instead of feeling me up," Ace squawked indignantly, spluttering incoherent denial, that was silenced by chortling that he would guess is what the Phoenix sounded like laughing, "Seriously, hold on, will you? It's pretty dark up there that i won't be able to see all that clearly, anything at all could happen. And not the tails, please, they're actually fragile and rather sensitive,"

* * *

As the duo flew off to the dark, starry sky, down on the ground, the animals left behind watched them with curious eyes.

Somewhere deep between the shades of trees behind them, another pair of eyes watches carefully and slowly slinked away to the depths of night.

* * *

It's been three months since Ace was so up high, feeling the cold breeze caressing his skin and the thin clumps of clouds passing just above his head. Against his chest and curled between the crook of his arm, quiet and shivering, Marko pressed her talons deep against his chest to seek refuge and warmth. Ace glanced down to the Fire Phoenix briefly to make sure she is safe, "So where is this place?"

"Careful, but look down under you," The Phoenix's voice was nearly drowned by the rushing wind, though Ace heard it all the same. He did as he was told, seeing nothing underneath but green expanse covered in darkness, "The garden was only a fraction of the island, separating the main village from the forest deeper within. Not many would venture that deep unless you're a local whose livelihood lies there. Still, there is a point even they don't dare to cross, and after the treasure hunters had stopped coming, they sealed it away to make sure no tourist or any new generation of fame-seeker accidentally stumbled across that place. That was over 50 years ago,"

"And you found out about it still?"

The Phoenix craned his head to the side, watching Ace carefully, "Told you didn't i, i have advantages most don't. The very same thing that makes it easier for you to reach that place now,"

Ace looked up from staring at the down earth down below, frowning. Ten, like an old, flickering bulb, it finally dawned on him, "Oh, right,"

He could ear small snickers, distinguishable even between the rushing wind, and tightened his grip around the bird's neck. If the zoan noticed it, he certainly doesn't react to it.

"As for the place itself, i'm guessing that you're already familiar with the local legend," The Phoenix continued, pausing briefly to flap his long wings mightily against a sudden harsh wind. Ace hunched down, holding on to the small bird in his arm tighter to keep her from being blown away, "The gift from the dead princess' lover. She was buried along with the gift by the king's orders, and no one knows exactly where she is. And well, that's true. At least, it is for the villagers and the kingdom's citizen then,"

"Huh?"

"Think about it. Gardenia used to be a large kingdom, and kingdoms throughout the centuries were known to have their own tombs, where the royal family and their most prized belongings would be buried upon their demise. Around the time of their reign, kingdoms of those ages would have these tombs are usually well hidden, mostly in the case of war and should the castle fell, that the tomb won't be so easily raided by the conquering soldiers. Sometimes, they'll be somewhere close to the castle itself so it can double as a hiding place, since tombs are usually full of traps and its a good deterrence for any pursuing enemies. Smarter, more knowledgable treasure hunters would of course look for this tomb first,"

That… made a lot of sense. It sort of irked Ace to realize that he had to rely on Marco this much to figure that out, but at least he's making some progress, "Did they ever find it?"

At his question, the first hint of hesitancy appear in the zoan's tone, "I… don't actually know about that. Like i said, the age of treasure hunting in this area dried up many years ago, even before i was born and certainly long before i was a pirate. If one of them found the tomb, they certainly hadn't found the princess and the treasure," the bird glanced back again, and Ace could feel the altitude lowering, as well as any motion around him. The Phoenix turned its gaze down to the ground, prompting Ace to do the same, "In any case, we'll find out by ourselves, won't we?"

Just beyond the thin wisp of clouds, he could see it, a gigantic cylindrical pattern taking over the ground as far as his eyes could see, and right in the middle of it, a relatively smaller speck that grew larger and larger the closer they hovered downwards. It took a while for him to realize that they're right above a decrepit castle, with crumbling roof and weathered walls, a majestic building eaten by the sign of passing time.

It's a castle, hundreds of years old and obviously have been abandoned for just as long.

They landed just in front of a towering door, one that must've been sturdy once yet was eaten by moss and termites through the years, one of them making an ominous creaking noise when the breeze from the Phoenix's landing pushed it back. Ace climbed down, still cradling Marko in his hold, who latched on to his wrist once he loosened his hold. She didn't make a single peep, looking just as astonished as Ace was at the sight of what's before them.

"Welcome, Ace" the Phoenix's voice echoed in the air, losing the low croon that his voice held once the bird's large form transformed back into that of a man in a burst of light blue and yellow fire, illuminating the darkness just for the briefest moment, "To the Castle Gardenia, hundreds of years pass its prime, and the best place to search for your treasure,"

* * *

A fairly short update, but i won't be able to update until January after break, and i'd like to tell people still that no i'm not abandoning this story. It will continue, as will some of the others.

Hope you liked it and in the case i won't be able to log in anytime soon, an early Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, everyone! Have a good Christmas!


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello, i genuinely forgot i got an account here and forgot to post so much update (and a new fic!). Currently transferring them over, but if you're interested, i'm relatively more active over in Ao3 with the same username.**

 **Anyway, thanks for reading!**

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Shimmering ebony hair, lips the shade of the freshest peach, and rosy, dusted cheeks as if kissed by the sun itself, that was how the folklore described the princess. Staring up at the weathered, rot-invested painting that overlooked the castle's grand entrance, Ace found it to be true.

Most of it, at least; She definitely has black hair and painted bow lips, but most of the once vibrant colour now made dull with time, covered by moss and dust. In the picture, she wore a dress that screams elegance, with a small tiara perching above the wave of black hair that fell framing her cheeks. Ace lit up one of his arm as a makeshift torch to further illuminate the picture, it became clear that there are freckles on her cheek, and flower motifs that decorated the lines of her dress. The princess, even smiling widely and cheerfully, gave off the air of dignity, much like the painting of the king and queen right next to hers.

"So this is the princess" the logia murmured, darting his sight from corner to corner to take in every small detail he could find. The two vines of flowers that framed the waist he could distantly recall seeing in the garden just earlier, and in the princess' cupped hands, she held a single flower, its deep red colour standing more vividly that the rest of the fading paint. It was the same flower that decorated her dress, Ace realized after a while, even depicted with the same shade of red, "Huh, she sure loves her flowers,"

"Indeed. Even before the year the garden was reported to have been created, Gardenia has been known to be a kingdom that boasted advanced agriculture in addition to their unique variety of flora," The voice sounded rather distracted, prompting Ace to turn to where Marco was, to find the man staring up at the same painting. He had a rather contemplative look on his eyes, brows slightly furrowed and illuminated by burst of azure flames on his arm, "And she truly is a charming, exquisite beauty," his hand reached over to the surface of the canvas, wiping it slowly while his gaze were trained on her, gazing almost reverently. Admiringly, "Bewitching, even,"

Ace frowned, glancing between the painting of the princess and the older man, "Uh, yeah, i guess she's kinda pretty. If you like painted… blurry, faded women," Which she is, with all of the centuries worth of dust over her.

Marco swung his arm to his side, glancing at the darkened halls that lies right next to where they stood. Two branching hallways leading deeper into the castle, the floor underneath decorated by an identical long tattered carpet that has seen better days. One of these hallways, the one right next to Ace, were obstructed by falling debris that probably came from the large hole on the roof and tethering pilar, effectively cutting off the path there. From the other direction, the wind blows harshly, sending a whistling noise as it echoed through crumbling walls.

At the sound, Marko let out a single cheep from Ace's shoulder, her tiny claws digging on to his naked skin as she sidled closer to his cheek. The young pirate lifted his free hand to rub his finger on her chest, all the while increasing the intensity of the flame on his arm, "Well, i guess we know where we're going to go to first,"

Marco gave him a light hum. When Ace glanced at him again, he found the man once again staring at the painting, and frowned, "Come on, you said we only got until sunrise. She not _that_ pretty _,"_ And Marco himself had been the one who impose that time limit, they don't really have time to be admiring the scenery.

The Yonko Commander's eyes darted towards him, first shrouded in confusion, then something more familiar. Amusement, "She's quite alluring, actually. But i'm more interested in some of the details in the painting rather than her highness herself," Marco gave him a wink, his lips curling teasingly, "There's no need to fight for my attention with a painting,"

"W-wha, I— You— I'm not— I don't want your stupid—" Ace finally stuttered after a few seconds of speechlessness, cursing the slight skip inside of his chest at that ridiculous smirk. Marko choose that moment to begin tugging on a strand of his hair, the movement thankfully distracting Ace from staring at Marco too long and reminded himself to keep going, "Y-yeah, right, i need your _attention_ , because in case you forgot, sunrise is in a couple of hours. I just want to make sure it didn't slip from your _old man_ memories that we need to keep going and find that tomb you talked about before,"

He expected the blond to bristle at the obvious jab, but evidently an insult to ones age only worked on his dad - and Rayleigh, but he controlled his annoyance with the sort of grace that Roger will never achieve - because Marco only smiled wickedly, without any sign of having his feathers ruffled.

Pun fully intended, because Ace needs to win in his pettiness somehow.

"But i do remember, and that's why this painting intrigued me," the man paused, humming, "I think it could help with our search,"

At that, Ace perked up, and immediately zeroed in on the painting of the princess, "What? How?"

Marco stepped closer towards the painting with the his burning arm outstretched, letting his fire grow big enough until it was enough to illuminated the entirety of the painting. Under the brilliant light, the painting seems to glow blue, reflecting Marco's flame,"Hundreds of years ago, Gardenia's royal insignia and subsequently their biggest pride was iris - more specifically, the _Iris Sibirica,_ once said to bloom green all summer and stays even approaching winter, blooming everywhere around the kingdom as if to welcome travellers. That flower is shown in the king and queen's painting, decorating their attire and royal ceremonial items,"

Through the veil the colourof sunrise, one of the commander's finger pointed towards one part of the painting next to the princess', before shifting two more times on different spots Ace couldn't quite get. Before he could, The flame and arm has moved away again, almost disorienting the young logia, "But the flower the princess had with her in her own painting wasn't an iris, not even close. In fact the flower she held is the _Amaryllis Belladonna_ , believed to be native from South Blue but in the last few decades there's been evidence and study that it actually originated from here, Gardenia - specifically the Gift Garden - sometime a couple hundred years ago,"

With his other hand, Marco reached over towards the frame, towards the red flower, carefully wiping away the dust and dirt that accumulated thickly over it, "Additionally, both paintings has different frames and even different sizes, and then there's the difference of pose and depiction between the princess' painting to her parent's; different signature indicating different painter, no ceremonial item or any royal insignia on sight, and even if this painting exudes regality that the princess could not hide, she is dressed in such a plain attire unsuitable for the royal portrait,"

With a snap of his finger, Marco turned back to Ace, lips curled in satisfaction, "Ergo, this painting is not an official royalty portrait, this is a personal, possibly one the princess commissioned herself without her father's knowledge, that the king must've ordered to be placed here, since no one else would have the authority to,"

Ace stared.

And kept staring, until Marco began to frown, "What?"

"Are all blonds supposed to like, be nerds or something?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Never mind," the logia sighed, waving his blazing arm nonchalantly and dismissively, "Okay, so this painting isn't supposed to be here, and the king must've put it here after his daughter's death. What does that had to do with what we're here for? How is it going to help us?"

"Hmm? Oh, it probably won't,"

"What?! Then why the hell are we standing here for the past 10 minutes?!" the sound of Ace's screech echoed through the shabby walls of the castle, enough to make startle Marko and make her flail her wings in panic. He couldn't even feel apologetic in his indignation. This man, and- oh, for fuck's sake he's still smiling and his shoulders are shaking like he's trying not to laugh, he's definitely teasing, had he been teasing him this whole time? Purposefully lifting up his expectancy with all of that stupid, fancy talk, which, okay, maybe it's kinda impressive because he definitely wouldn't figure out any of that on his own. Not that he even need to figure any of that out because, "We're on a tight schedule and you're busy playing detective with a painting?!"

In a blur, suddenly, Marco's blazing hand was in front of his face, close enough that the younger could feel the air surrounding his fire - which was strangely cold instead of being hot like a normal fire - with a leisurely wagging finger poking through the curtain of fire. Somewhere from behind the appendage, someone started clicking their tongue, "Playing _treasure hunter_ , Ace. Which is what we _both_ are doing," the hand drew back, and Marco popped back into Ace's vision from behind the blaze, his smile turning into something less amused and into something else, something more enigmatic, "And any good treasure hunter has to be able to take in every little detail of their surrounding, and remember not to rush things or else they'd miss anything that could be important,"

How long would the walk from this place back to the docks take? Couple of hours? Half a day? It can't be as hard as Marco made it out to be. His dad would probably start looking for him after he wakes up, but if Ace comes back with the treasure he'd probably be forgiven, right? It probably won't be that difficult walking back on foot, because he's going to kill this man right here right now for testing his patience.

…Who the hell is he kidding, he needs Marco. To find the treasure, that is. Two people working together will be faster than one who doesn't even know where to even begin.

And besides, as much as he hates thinking about it, what are the chances he'll come out as the winner on that fight?

Still, it didn't stop Ace from grinding his teeth harder than necessary, hissing, "Well, it's a good thing i'm not a treasure hunter, i'm a pirate,"

Probably not sensing his rapidly worsening mood, Marco laughed at his answer, and Ace didn't miss the hint on condescension in his voice. Maybe if he strike now while he's distracted, he won't heal fast enough for a second hit, "Well, yes, but don't you know one of the most important essence of pirates?"

Irritation faded away to be replaced by confusion. What does that has to do with anything? "Freedom?"

Marco began to open his mouth, brows furrowed, which was enough to tell Ace that he gave the wrong answer. But instead of laughing at him again, he watched as the older man pause, lips slightly parted and eyes blinked slowly. If Ace didn't know better, he'd say Marco looked like he was surprised. After a while, another smile bloomed on the blond's lips, pursed tightly as if he's trying not to let it grow too much. When their eyes met, Marco's gaze was gentle, fond even, and this time, it was Ace who felt surprised by the reaction.

Maybe it was because of the colour of the phoenix's fire, but Ace had never seen anything… anything so blue before in his life. Like there may be some many different variety of blue - and somewhere in his mind, he wondered if Marco could name them all - but those orbs he's staring right into must be the most perfect shade he'd ever seen.

Kind of like the sea outside of Foosha 13 years ago, the one he saw when he first boarded Oro Jackson.

"It certainly is," it belatedly registered into Ace's mind when Marco finally spoke with a soft voice, which faded as he cleared his throat. Ace blinked and looked away just as the older man did the same, Marco to look at the painting again and Ace to just… to look someplace else, "But i was actually talking about treasures. It's important to be aware of your surrounding and familiarize yourself with it, putting pieces together in hope something may lead to a clue that can help your search,"

Oh, right, they had been talking about that. At the reminder, Ace groaned, tossing his head backwards. That allows him to look up at the dank ceilings, and in the midst of the darkness above, a sliver of red that slowly descended on him. Ah, Marko came back. He outstretched his non-fiery arm, offering it as a perch for her to land on. When the little bird had safely sink her claws on his forearm, Ace sighed, "You just said there's nothing helpful about the painting after all,"

"I didn't say there wasn't anything, i just meant i wasn't sure if it's helpful or not,"

Ace was already on the verge of reconsidering about walking back on foot, but at least this time Marco seems to catch his rising impatience, "Okay, let me explain. Recall the climax of the folklore," once again, he moved his hand to illuminate the painting, "The king refused to give his blessing to the union of his daughter and the mage. Gift Garden is well known to be the source of unique variety of vegetation that could only be found inside of it, including the _Amaryllis Belladona_ ,"

He turned towards Ace, pointing once again towards the painting, more specifically to the flower in the princess' hand, "Therefore it'll be highly out of character for him to have this painting which depicted his daughter wearing the flower her lover specifically created for her placed in the foyer, of all places. Pops is allies with several different kingdoms, most who held the same high standard when it comes to the portrait of their royal family, especially where it could be seen by guest. Beautiful as this painting is, it wouldn't have been placed here, unless it was purposefully done for a reason, something like regret and mourning,"

The corners of the old man's lips tugged upwards again, his blue eyes finding the younger's darker grey ones, "And i highly doubt this may be the only thing that was changed during that mourning period. There's probably much more memoriam to his daughter within the castle, something connected to her, places easy to see, places she might've spent more time in—"

"Including the location of the tomb where she's buried," Ace gasped as understanding dawned on to him. On his ear, Marko tweeted inquiringly over the sudden glee that made his shoulder shook and disturbing her in tugging his hair, "I.. Okay, i take back everything i said, that was… that was awesome,"

The moment those words escaped Ace's mouth, the young man felt the urge to kick himself. Perfect, now he gave Marco even more ammunition to make fun of him.

And he braced himself for another irritating quip from his rival crew's pirate when Ace caught a glint on his eyes, but none of it comes. Instead, Marco only chuckled warmly, sounding pleased, "Well, like i said, i could be wrong and this is a waste of time like you said earlier,"

Marco's light tone suggested that he was being nonchalant, but there's something heavy in his eyes when he stared at the painting again, a brief flash of frown that wasn't illuminated well enough by his flame Ace wasn't sure it was even there in the first place or if it was his eyes playing tricks on him. Was he worried? Ace can't really tell.

"Ugh, don't jinx it. Seriously, you and Sabo, why are nerdy blonds so negative?" with a roll of his eyes, the younger reached over with his un-torched hand, his movement too rough that it made Marko squeak in surprise and fluffed herself up. He whispered a quick apology to the Fire Phoenix, before turning back to Marco, who stared at him uncomprehendingly in return, "If you're wrong, you're wrong. We'll find some other clue deeper in the castle, which we won't be able to do if we just keep standing around here and talk. So let's go," without waiting for a reply, Ace walked off, dragging Marco right behind him.

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Even after hundreds of years, there are still some traces of this dilapidated castles' former glory in its mighty pillars and grand chambers. Their footsteps echoed through the walls, the only sound so far aside from the blowing night breeze that sent shivers down Ace's spine. It's not exactly the cool weather that bothered him - being a Fire logia, temperature hadn't bothered him for the past 3 years - but there was a creeping sense of wariness and dread the deeper they walked in.

And not just that, silly as it is to say, it almost felt like he's being watched.

Which is virtually impossible, considering how obviously abandoned this entire place is, but the atmosphere around him doesn't help this slowly building paranoia. When another blow of wind caressed his skin, Ace could actually feel the hair on his neck prickling and his heartbeat rising.

On his shoulder, he felt Marko fluffing up her feather, but as if sharing his trepidation, she didn't let out a single peep.

It's just the silence, he reassured himself silent, he's just not used to this much silence in such a closed space. After all, he spent his entire life with Luffy, and his daily life on board of Oro Jackson doesn't exactly consist of peaceful mornings and quiet nights, so hearing nothing, especially with how pitch black everything beyond the reach of their fire were, was just unnerving for him and spook him for absolutely no reason. Which is really stupid, and Sabo and Luffy will laugh at him if they even know about this.

Worse, Marco would, and he's just a step behind him. Right, maybe he could start a conversation or something, anything to divert from how nervous he's getting and anything at all to fill the—

"I wanted to apologize,"

Oh, thank goodness he didn't have to start.

Ace glanced back, quirking one of his brow, "For what?"

"For what happened this morning in the garden. Those men has been properly punished for going against orders by their division commander,"

Oh, the assholes who bullied Luffy, "Oh uh, you don't have to. I mean, it's not your fault they're acting like a bunch of idiots," which is true, and besides, he made them pay his own way as well. Aside from the last guy who pushed Luffy, that is, who was…, "And you kicked their asses too. And you said violence wasn't your style,"

The short chuckle Marco gave sounded partially embarrassed, his smile a few shade away from a straight grimace, "It's really not. But what they did would've had a severe consequences, and this wasn't the first time they went against orders. Those men aren't necessarily bad people or else Pops wouldn't have accepted them on board, they're just rough and unpolished as far as being a pirate under the Whitebeard flag go," he sighed, and after a few seconds of pause added, "That's why Pops isn't too happy with me at the moment,"

Ace frowned, "Your captain got angry at you for disciplining your men?"

"Not angry, he just didn't really like enforcing rules and discipline through physical force, said it's not the way he run things for the last few decades and he didn't want any of his commander to start. I told him about the circumstances, including about Roger, but he wasn't having it," the blond sighed again, louder and heavier, "Well, won't be the first disagreement we had, but it's been happening far too many times recently for my taste,"

It's clear from the tight expression on his face that this was something that deeply bothered Marco. Ace pursed his lips, unable to think of anything else to say in reply, so in the end, he settled with, "I'm sorry to hear that,"

At that, Marco let out a brief laugh, glancing to his side towards Ace. The troubled look on his face was still present, but there was a familiar twinkle of amusement on his eyes as he spoke, "Ah, well, i did go overboard a little, Jacques actually had deep scratch marks on his chest before i healed him. In fact, i should say sorry to you too for stealing your thunder there when you handled things well enough on your own, but you did started using fire, and the Princess' Garden is too beautiful to be ruined by a fight,"

"Ugh, that guy pushed Luffy, i wasn't going to let that slide!"

"I know, i saw. How is he? Is your brother hurt?"

"Pfft, as if anyone can hurt Luffy, he may look scrawny but that kid could fight. Even if i hadn't been there, he could've taken care of things, but i couldn't just leave him to deal with things himself, you know? But yeah, he's fine,"

"I still have to apologize for that on behalf of my men, and to him too. I was actually on my way to your ship to find the two of you when i saw you at the garden,"

"W-what?!" Ace actually choked on his own spit, eyes widening like a saucer at Marco's nonchalant words. He whipped his head to the side so fast that his hair sways and he felt it smacking Marko, causing the bird to let out a shrill tweet that sounded surprised and annoyed. She extended and ruffled her wings to mimic a flying gesture, smacking the tips of it on Ace's cheek. If he didn't know any better, he'd say that it was her retaliation, "Marko, your feathers are poking me in the eye— Okay, okay i'm sorry, shush, calm down, girl,"

A snort followed by a nearly cackling laughter sounded somewhere nearby, which made Ace turn to the source, one hand still calmly petting the irate bird on his shoulder, "And you, you were going to go to Oro Jackson, are you insane?!"

"Why? I managed to go in last time, didn't i?"

True, and even then Ace didn't understand how he could've gotten so close in the first place, "That's not the point, and that one time is already crazy enough! What the hell were you thinking, everyone was on board, someone could've seen you!"

"I would've found a way," Marco simply shrugged, "After all, i also needed to thank you for what you did. I know you were just trying to calm your father down, but you spared my men, and you spared our crews from any unnecessary confrontation," This quieted down Ace's further protest. Right, there was also that, "I thought it would be best to at least say it to your face, but helping you with this little treasure hunt of yours is another way i can repay you,"

"Ah, um, right," Ace could only murmur as an answer, shifting his gaze away, feeling rather embarrassed. On his arm, his fire flickered, even though there was no breeze, "Um, thanks,"

"No need, just repaying a debt. Just because i'm a pirate, doesn't mean i don't know my manners,"

Something about that sentence tugged something in the back of Ace's mind, like an old memory trying to resurface. The moment it did, he groaned, and glared at Marco when the older man chuckled at his response, "Don't quote my own words to me,"

"Alas, i'm a pirate. Stealing things, even quotes, is another essence in this lifestyle,"

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After the foyer, there was a decaying grand hall, decorated only by the same ratty carpet that had led them here and growing moss on the corners. There were 4 doors on the sides, either broken to pieces or left hanging open for the last hundreds of years, swaying and creaking menacingly. On the very end of the open hall over a short set of stairs, one more door stood, arched and much larger than the others. The carpet lead into said door, ending just right before it.

"Must be the throne room, but i would guess it'll be just as barren as everything else we've seen so far," Marco spoke musingly, his attention taken by one of the broken door that bar their entrance beyond it, "It's been hundreds of years, after all, and sometime after the kingdom has dissolved, whoever came before us must've taken anything of value and caused those damages,"

Ace clicked his tongue, eyeing the massive door, "You don't think that'll make our search harder, do you?"

"In your own words, best not to jinx it,"

Beyond the arched doorway was a smaller room, but at least it wasn't as empty. A massive decorated window stood right above the podium on the very end of the room, letting in a bright ray of moonlight that illuminated the largest of the three thrones in a drab copy of the spotlights on show stages. Between the pillars, on the very top of them hung a decorative cloth of sorts, some with were still connecting between pillars and others which had long fallen, now only blowingly gently along with the wind that made its way here. Littered across the floor were broken rubbles and debris, the only signs of disturbance from between the time the castle last saw human inside of it and to the time they entered.

As Ace walked deeper, he let out a startled gasp when Marko suddenly flew off from his shoulder, gliding over towards said throne to perch over the armrest. She twittered a chipper little tune, the sound an anomaly in their gloomy surrounding, her long tail flowing down from behind her.

"Marko," he scolded lightly, somewhat wary of the noises she's making when he hasn't hear a single noise louder than his and Marco's footsteps and the chime of wind all the way here. Like something could leap up if they disturb that silence.

Only instead, it was the Marco behind him who hum questioningly, further reminding him that he should really figure out a new name for the phoenix, "Not you, her— Never mind, what are we looking for here? There's not much to see other than the thrones," Though that on itself is already an improvement. There aren't much to see along the way here aside from old furnitures, decorations and cobwebs. And small skittering insects responsible for those cobwebs, but he's trying so hard not to think about them.

"A throne room is the most integral part of a castle, and the many i have been in often were connected to important places in the castle; royal family chambers, treasury," he glanced towards Ace, lips quirking slightly, "entrance to the royal tombs,"

Ace couldn't help but frown at that, eyes darting from one side of the room to another, "Wait, they build their honest to god cemetery next to the throne room of all places?"

"For some kingdom's cultures, it's a sign of respect. I know a kingdom in an island just beyond Grand Line whose kings has a tradition to pay their respect to his ancestors before he start his day, the tomb was build right behind the throne itself, hidden from plain sight. Besides, if there's any other place the king could've hidden or change anything in memory of his daughter it would be the place important to the royal family. This is an ideal place to begin our search,"

Is what he said, but instead of walking away and actually start searching, Marco stood in place, staring at Ace almost expectantly. Ace frowned at him, "Then let's look around, what are we waiting for?"

"Oh, for me, i'm waiting for you to let go of my hand,"

For some reason, it took Ace having to look down between them to realize that yes, he is still holding Marco's hand by the wrist. Which he dropped as if burned - ironic, really - with an mortified squawk, "You couldn't have told me that while we're walking here?!"

"Oh, but you were shivering a little so i thought you're just scared and needed to hold on to something, so i didn't,"

Shit, he noticed, "I wasn't scared!"

"My mistake then," Marco replied smoothly, though the curling smile on the older man's face made it really clear that he wasn't buying it, "Now that we cleared that up, lets started our search, shall we?"


	8. Chapter 8

**Me: *Coming back to my own fic after months* I have no recollection of this place.**

 **(Sorry for the late update, and hope you like it!)**

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"Oh, this is truly fascinating,"

If Ace has to hear that word and its ilk one more time, he's going to have Marco look for something _fascinating_ on his hands. When he strangle the older man with them.

With a sigh, the logia swiped his flaming arm one more time over the balcony he had been searching for the second time now unfruitfully, trying to illuminate anything he might've missed. He didn't even know what he's looking for half of the time. He hardly found anything but copious amounts of dust and dirt on the floor, wild vine encircling the stone railings, and two small empty vases placed discreetly on each corner of the balcony. There's only more dirt hidden inside, no sign of any kind of treasure.

Below the balcony, the castle grounds were covered by the shadow casted by the castle, far too dark for him to make out anything. The large expanse reached to the large mountains that blocked this castle away from the rest of the island, the same obstacle that they only managed to overcome because of Marco's Devil Fruit. With every strong enough wind blow, the rustling and chirps of nature rose up from the unknown below.

A breeze of wind blows gently, and despite his long adapted inability to be concerned with temperature, Ace still found himself shivering, glancing at his surrounding and back to the dark expanse below. What is this eerie feeling he's been getting? He's been feeling like he's being watched the entire time, which is ridiculous because he's so sure there's no one around the proximity except for Marco - and Marko, who had fallen silent and was taking a nap on the throne's handle last he saw her - so there's no reason for him to feel this way.

In the end, he shook his head, and after giving his surrounding another swipe, Ace glanced towards the vast sky, still as dark as it was when he stepped out here. At least the sun hadn't appear, but there's no way for him to be sure of the time. How close is it to sunrise? The fact that there isn't a hint of light beyond the horizon is reassuring at least, but who knows when—

"Yes, just as i thought. Very curious,"

"Marco, i swear," with a groan, Ace stomped back inside of the throne room, making a beeline over to where the only other human being within the entire place stood, critically measuring…. whatever it is he has in his hand. Ace only has eyes to the raised brows aimed at him, as if his outburst was unwarranted, "I don't care how much you want to geek out over this castle and whatever it is you found so interesting, but that thing better has something to do with our search or i will punch you,"

As soon as the words left Ace's mouth, he immediately regretted it. No, not because he thought he hurts the older man's feeling, but because without a single beat, Marco instantly countered with, "I really want to see you try," saying it with that infuriating smirk that got Ace tempted to just make his threat a reality. Alas, not even he was that stupid, "And what makes you think it doesn't? Maybe it's the breakthrough we've been looking for,"

"Because so far, i've only seen you looking at walls and the thrones, i saw you crawling on the floor at some point and now you're looking at… that!" That, being the goddamn vase in his hand, the thing he had been inspecting so thoroughly when Ace came in. If he's so interested in it, Ace would be kind enough to point him to the other two he found on the balcony, or better yet, point him to the sculptor he found on the market earlier today. Then throw them to his head, with some extra flame ball as a bonus, "What does any of that has to do with treasure hunting?!"

Instead of answering, the zoan simply stared at him. It would've been expected and retaliation would swiftly come - success notwithstanding - if it had been a condescending look Ace was expecting by now, but Marco was staring at him with a serious, unreadable frown, "Has anyone ever told you you need to learn patience?"

Plenty, from nicer people too, "We. don't. have. much. time,"

"Agree, which is why i had us look in the one place that may held the most information, or else, i'd be really interested to see what this entire castle has to offer. I've even been holding back on the 'geeking out', as you put it," Marco raised up the vase, shaking it gently, "And guess what, i have info,"

That stopped Ace dead in his track. He gave the vase a dubious glance, "Really? From that thing?"

"Among many other things, and i'm willing to share them with you, seeing this is all for your sake, but," he raised his pointer up with his other hand, prompting shutting Ace down from saying anything. The younger's mouth closed with an audible click of his teeth, "I'm not sure i want to, with your attitude the entire night,"

Ace's mouth fell open again, but there's still no word coming out of him. Incredulity has silenced him in ways no other thing has managed to do tonight, "Are you serious right now?"

"Very," and the most concerning part, with the frown and stern lips pressed thin, blond actually look it. He snapped his fingers, a smile slowly overtaking his lips, "How about this? If you promise to behave every time i say the word 'patience', then i'll help. And by behave, i mean i don't want any backtalk and complaints. Just pure silence and a chance to let me talk,"

This time, Ace's eyes widened along with his mouth, anger mixing together with the increasing disbelief, "Are you fucking serious right now—"

"Patience,"

"Fuck that, tell me what you—"

"Patience,"

"What the hell do you think i am, a dog?! Marco, i swear—"

" _Patience_ ,"

Finally, Ace fell quiet, winded. And maybe, because there was something dangerous in that previously playful blue eyes, the one that made his prickle, a rarely used survival instinct blaring loud alarms in his head. It reminded him of their first meeting, of how those eyes looked down at him. It reminded him just _who_ exactly he's talking to.

As seconds passed and not a word passed Ace's lips, Marco suddenly smiled again, looking pleased. He felt his chest stutter by the sight of it, suddenly feeling unsure. He seriously has no grasp of this man at all.

"Now, was that so hard?" the older chuckled, taking a step closer towards the silenced youth. Ace had to actually fought his instinct to take a step back when Marco approached, "Well then, why don't you start by telling me what you find so far, hmm? I think together, we've covered enough grounds to have found something by now,"

"Nothing," Ace found himself blurting, and cursed inwardly when Marco stopped just as he was unable to fight back the urge to take a step back, the scratch of his heels against the dusty floor seemingly echoing loudly through the walls. He held his breath, carefully watching the other man, who did little else but hum questioningly, urging him to continue, "I couldn't find a thing. It's just the balcony back there, and i guess the garden underneath. It was really dark. And, i don't know, these two vases on both corners. There's nothing inside,"

"Well, it has been centuries since anyone tended to this place, i'll be more surprised if something was still there," Marco mused, eyeing the vase in his hand, "Still, two vases outside too, hmm? i'm going to guess that they look just like this one," he lifted the vase to Ace's eye level, twisting it front to back in his hand. It was a lean, elegant little thing looking so fragile held in Marco's strong hand no matter how delicately he held it. Almost all of its entirety was caked in dust - much like everything else in this place - but there was a spot in the middle of it that has been recently wiped away, revealing lines of design underneath, and what looked like a mark or drawing of sorts.

Ace nodded, glancing between the vase and Marco, "Yeah," he muttered half-heartedly, still unable to understand just what this whole thing is all about.

Which is something Marco seems to understand, because the man smiled, eyes twinkling with amusement as he twisted his hand again, showing the odd drawing on the vase clearer in Ace's line of sight, "Alright then, now that you kept your part of the bargain, i guess i should probably begin explaining, shouldn't i? Tell me, does that little mark there looks familiar to you?"

It took some squinting and consideration on Ace's part, but in the end, he only shook his head, "No?"

"You sure? Take another look,"

"No, i don't," the logia glared, though his eyes did flicker briefly back to the vase, "Why don't you just tell me?"

"Well, since we're here for your importance, i'm not going to do all the work for you. How are you going go try and prove anything if you're only relying on someone else to do the heavy lifting?" Marco pointed out matter-of-factly, raising one of his brow while he tapped one of his finger on the drawing again, "And obviously, in addition to patience, you can benefit from having some observational skills as well. What did i say before about small details?"

Painful as it is to admit, he kind of has a point. The fact that they even got here was all the older man's work, while Ace had been more of a tag-along in this little adventure. Not that he's going to admit that, "Screw you," Ace gritted out, but took another look on the vase nonetheless, because he could tell that they're going nowhere until he could solve this. Ugh, why did he ask for help again? So Marco figure out that cool clue on the painting, but heck if he knows if he's actually—

Wait. The painting.

"That's," Ace began, feeling the tug of recollection began to form in his mind, "Isn't that the flower on the Princess' painting? The, uh, what do you call it again? The flower from the garden,"

"The _Amaryllis Belladonna_ , that's it," Marco supplied, nodding approvingly, "And what did i tell you about it? Why is it an important thing to note?"

"Because that wasn't the kingdom's royal flower, it was something that came from the Gift Garden, which means it was made by the Mage," The tug of recollection turned increase into the brink of revelation, a dawning thought that began to surface itself. Ace widened his eyes when he finally made the connection, turning wide eyed to Marco as words gushed out of him with more enthusiasm than he had felt in the last few minutes, "Which the king allowed to be displayed because he was mourning for her, which means this vase doesn't normally belongs in the castle, it's part of the king's way to mourn for her and therefore is another clue,"

The rush of satisfaction over his answer that filled his chest was surprising enough. But then he caught the way Marco's smile grew, beaming down at him with what can only be described as pride and it rendered Ace speechless. Something jumped inside of his stomach at the sight of it, something that he won't deny made him feel…

It made him feel really happy for some reason, to have that smile aimed at him.

"Excellent," There's a movement on Ace's periphery, one he couldn't quite catch, but he felt the moment Marco's other hand was planted on the top of his head and began to ruffle his hair. His stomach flipped even harder, his breath caught in his throat, feeling all too aware of the touch, "Good job, Ace. I found this vase by the smaller throne on the left of the middle one. Royal etiquette differs from country and kingdoms, but the royal heir's place would more often than not be on the left of the kingdom's ruler. This is indeed related to the Princess,"

When the hand on Ace's head pulled away, somehow, the very same spot it was on felt colder. Marco turned away, eyes critically examining at the vase again, and Ace took that chance to raise his hand up to his own head, gently rubbing the same spot. He'd sooner fling himself to the seas before admitting it, especially to the man himself, but it had felt… nice. It's nice be acknowledged like that.

And despite how annoying it could be, Marco has a nice smile. It was just… nice.

"Now, as for the relevance to our search," At that, Ace quickly dropped his hand, his palms loudly slapping against the material of his pants. He flinched, watching Marco pause and gave him a confused look. In the end, when Ace kept quiet, he continue, "As i was saying, this is what's called looking for a pattern. When hiding something of significance, it is often, conscious or not, that people left behind traces and clues. Some did it as a reminder for themselves to know where to look for it in the future, ancient kingdoms and families place it for their descendants to find, others just as a matter of symbolism. In this case, the king did the last one,"

Ace gave a noncommittal hum. When he look up, he found Marco looking at him with amusement and a lopsided smile as he chuckle, "Alright, you've done well, so i'll spare you the details. Now we know what the pattern to look for here: The _Amaryllis Belladonna_. Anywhere else in this castle that we look, if it's marked with it, then we can be sure it contains something of the Princess', and one of them should be the Last Gift. That saves us a lot of time from blindly searching in every corner of this place,"

"That's… that's good," the younger nodded, "So, do we move away from here, or what?"

"We do. I couldn't find anything else in this place, anything related to the Princess and the days after her passing, at least. Think it's safe for us to move on to other parts, keeping our eyes peeled for anything related to the _Amaryllis Belladonna_. The halls we saw outside could be a good place to start,"

With another nod, Ace moved away, taking only a couple of steps when he heard his name called. He turned back to Marco, and once again was caught off guard when the same sincere smile was back on the blond's face. This time, not only did he feel his stomach tightening, Ace is very aware of how hot his face began to feel, and it has nothing to do with his Devil Fruit, "W-what?"

Marco laughed, walking leisurely to catch up to Ace. He placed his hand back on top of Ace's head, patting gently, "You know, it takes more than just being strong and finding treasures to be a good pirate," his hand stopped, and Marco bowed himself down slightly, putting himself at eye level with Ace. Calm hooded blue orbs seemingly peering into wide, alert grey ones, "And it takes even more to be seen as a dependable adult,"

The hand slid down from Ace's head again, but the smile was still there, beaming down at Ace and doing unexplainable stuff to his insides, "But i have no doubt that you're going to be great at being both,"

This time, the heat of his hand stays even as Marco walked away, making his way over to the throne were Marko was and whistled to get her attention. The Fire Phoenix flapped her wings in attention, chirping happily as she leaped down to an awaiting arm and took perch. The Phoenix zoan watched the small phoenix's every move, tilting his head at times, almost in contemplation as he listens to her every tweets and coos.

And all too oblivious to a blushing Ace's heated gaze, who was still trying to calm down his racing heartbeat and the uncomfortable fluttering in his core.

The younger pirate took a deep breath, and muttered under his breath, "The hell is wrong with me?"

* * *

If the throne room, with the large window above of it and a balcony behind the thrones were dark, then it was even darker still entering the more narrow halls, with their only main source of illumination being their respective Devil Fruits. Another drawback for the lack of ventilation would be the fact that this entire place was incredibly musty and chock full of dust, causing Ace to sneeze incessantly the deeper they venture in. Marko's chirps became increasingly distressed as time pass, and when Marco began to cough and sputter did he pull them through the closest, relatively unharmed door. And as luck would have it, the room came with a large window, allowing the cold night air to pass by.

"Centuries old, yeah, i could see that," Ace finally said when he began to gain control of his breathing, "I can't see anything at all back there too, so if the Ama… Amarila… If there's any more of that flower around, i could've missed it," with another hacking cough, he walked over to the window and spit, wiping his saliva away with the back of hand.

Behind him, he could hear Marco clearing his throat with some effort, saying a little breathlessly, "Me neither. I could barely see a thing with the dust and how dark it was,"

With a couple more deep breaths, Ace began to glance at their surrounding, and blinked. The first thing he noticed was that there were more windows lining the wall on this side of the room, each of them intricately designed much like the one overlooking the throne room and allowing more illumination into the room itself. It was large, not as large as the throne room but surprisingly big, though he could only find 3 things of note inside: 2 large bookcase, a sort of study table with a chair leaning by the far end of the wall, and a large bed near it that was probably comfortable once but was now only collecting dust and thick cobwebs like everything else in this place.

"Is this a bedroom?" he mused loudly, taking in the size and detail within, such as the peeling, faded wallpaper, the few decorations placed here and there, and finally the bed itself. He noted that Marco had made his way over to the bookcases, and only barely able to stifle his commenting on just how nerdy it was. Sabo usually does the same thing whenever they landed or arrived somewhere, always aiming for the bookshelves and bookstores first, to 'gather information' he always says. Nerds, "Man, imagine having a bedroom this big,"

"Obviously belonging to a royalty, it's much too large for a guest room and a couple of the items here seems personalized," he heard Marco commented, already picking up one of the books and carefully turning them in his hand. Not even the thick layer of dirt and grime that Ace could see from where he stood deter him. On his shoulder, Marko suddenly took off, flying around the room in a circular motion before she settled on the desk Ace was examining. There's two books on the side and a half melted candle near it, covered in spider webs, with the owner nowhere in sight. Probably somewhere in the webs on the bed, the webs on the desk is probably a recreational home or something, considering the size of the two.

Ace was in the middle of contemplating the need to use the candle - on one hand, it'll help illuminate other areas, on the other hand, he'll be burning some poor spider's home - when he caught sight of something just on the other corner of the table. It was half hidden behind a dried quill and another stack of books, but was quickly revealed into sight the moment he aimed his fire at it.

"Marco," he called out, picking up the same vase they found in the throne room. With one hard wipe of his thumb, the layer of caked dust was removed to reveal the etched mark of the Princess' favorite flower over the surface, "I think i just figure out who owns this bedroom,"

* * *

"You know, back then people call it magic, but it was understood these days that the Mage was a Devil Fruit user,"

With a murmured thank you, Ace plucked down a little notebook from Marko's beak, putting it aside on the pile of things he had checked from inside the Princess' table drawer. With nothing else of note in the room bearing the flower image again one way or another, he has resorted to looking through the Princess' personal belongings, starting from the study table where he found the vase. There had only been papers and books so far, with occasional sketches, though most were eaten either by time or termites. There's even some small animals crawling out with every new item unearthed, and it was either that or being interested with what he's doing that had led to Marko helping him sort things away.

Probably the former, he thoughts, when he caught sight of a Red Antspider crawling from between the pages of a book he pulled out of the drawer. Marko made a happy little cheep as she dove her head down and began chowing down on the unsuspecting bug, its 12 legs failing wildly from either side of the bird's tough beak before it became limp as she began to chew. He wondered if that one's the one who has the web on the table, and if he might as well just use the candle if Marko might be eating the owner after all.

Ace lowered the page in his hand to Marko again, offering another, smaller Red Antspider to her while he scanned the paper for the flower. No such luck, "Well, it's a given, right? I mean, i know some regions doesn't call Devil Fruit that. Or even know about Devil Fruit,"

From where he was, still in front of the bookcase, Marco hummed, "True, but people often wondered what exactly the Fruit was, since the folklore is all they can go on with. The folklore said that he 'has the power to heal and give life', but there hasn't been a single documented Devil Fruit power that could do that. There are Fruits that allows healing - mine, for example - but the term 'give life' was too vague for some. The fact that he can grow the garden suggest some Paramecia types that are nature-related or, but it doesn't explain the mysterious calming attribute. In the circle of Devil Fruit scholars, it was such a widely debated issue that many leans to the story only being a folklore simply because of the contradictions,"

"But we know now that it's most likely not," Ace gestured to the vase, placed precariously close to the table edge. He reach over to nudge it over to a more safer ground, "What about you? What do you think it was?"

There's a dull thud echoing through the walls, and Ace looked up to see Marco looking contemplatively at the bookshelf, a closed book in one hand, "Well, when it comes to the power itself, maybe his Fruit controls biological matter. It would explain the healing and the garden, maybe it affected living beings of all nature. In that case, there are a couple that fits that description, some being rare and known to be powerful, but the story does corroborate on the Mage being just that,"

"And the garden? I mean, it's pretty and all, but you have to admit, it's way too calming and peaceful. I mean, you've seen the animals,"

At that, a light-hearted, playful little smile appear on Marco's face, eyes lighting up oddly as he glanced over to Ace, "Hmm, maybe it has nothing to do with his power. Maybe it was the power of love. The Princess and Mage were so in love with each other, their feelings overflowed to the garden that proves their love and infected it to become such a happy place,"

If Marko hadn't let out a happy and loud cheep over finding another wiggling bug in the drawer and breaking Ace out of is reverie, he would've kept staring blankly at Marco. As it is, he could only muster his most dumfounded and dry, "What?"

"Ahh, it's just a joke," the blond chuckled, quickly going back to the bookcase and picking up another thick and dusty tome, "I don't really have an answer to it. It's an interesting phenomenon, nonetheless,"

He fell quiet and went back into his deep perusal, though Ace couldn't quite take his eyes off of the Zoan, feeling like he just missed something. For some reason, Marco didn't look like he was joking when he said that, his words sounded sincere enough, like he actually believed it.

Ace shook his head, and continued on with his painstaking search. As if, he was probably only baiting him to see his reaction or something.

After the drawer, Ace moved on to the bedside drawers, where there are even more maggots and bugs squirming inside it and little of anything else but old knick knacks. Marko was _ecstatic,_ still chirping and pecking happily at panicked little critters while her human companion groaned as he stood up, frustrated, "Okay, i just figured out why i can't find anything," Ace groused, stomping over to the large dresser next to the bed, "It's because i don't even know what the hell i'm looking for, Marco, please tell me you got something there,"

But instead of a useful illumination, Marco, with his eyes still stuck in the book in his hand, simply said, "Patience,"

With a mighty roll of his eyes, the raven haired logia grabbed the cupboard handle tightly, "Okay, even you has got to admit this is getting annoy—Aaack!"

Amidst coughing from the absolute dust storm that blows over the moment he opened the cupboard, Ace could vaguely hear Marco amused chuckling, "What did i say? Patience. That thing's been closed for centuries, of course it's going to be filled with dust if you open it that quickly," Still coughing, the word 'Fuck off' couldn't quiet form under the sound of Ace practically trying to regurgitate his larynx out, so in the end, he settled with the less verbal, but still effective way of communication that is the display of a middle finger.

Of course, it did nothing to deter Marco away, because he heard the man's laughter only turned louder, the sound that is an equivalent to rubbing salt into the raw wound in his pride. The younger pirate lifted his head, eyes watery from irritation and mouth covered in drool from spitting so much, only to find that, oh, it was louder because during the time he was too busy trying to clear his air pathway from dust, Marco had moved closer, stopping only a few feet away from him.

And reached over to cup the side of Ace's face, using his thumb to wipe at the soot, "You look ridiculous," he snickered, using his other hand to grab on to the scarf he had tied around his waist and untie it. Splaying the fabric over his outstretched palm, he began to use it to wipe Ace's face, scrubbing a bit rougher than necessary. Ace sputtered, struggling a little because he definitely did _not_ need this, and was only met with an annoyed 'tsk' and Marco's hand moving from his face to gripping hard at his shoulder, "Stop moving around, it won't take long,"

"Stop wiping my face, i'm not a baby…," Ace's gritted indignantly, opening his eyes to glare at the other man when he faltered.

Oh, when did Marco get so close?

Once again, the little annoying flutters in his stomach return, and his breath caught in his throat. The hand wiping his face slowly lost its momentum and intensity, gently rubbing on his cheeks back and forth, though Ace was only distantly aware of it. No, he found himself staring into a pool of blue, into the deep abyss in the middle of that pool, so clear he's pretty sure he found himself reflected on them. He got a whiff of the scent of sea, one he so clearly remembered catching when they met this morning, sticking to the man like a prized cologne.

Ace stared, unconsciously swallowing, and wondered why did the first thing that crossed his mind was that this up close, Marco was actually fairly attractive.

The hand on his face stopped moving, and Marco began to smile, one corner of his lips tugging upwards, "There he is, cute as always,"

It took Ace a moment to be able to process those words, and the moment he did, he found himself sputtering, almost screeching, "What did you call me?!"

The smile grew, turning more into a smirk. Coupled with the very familiar annoying amused look on the older man's eyes and Ace internally retract every thought he had. Forget it, he's as attractive as that bunion on Crocus' left foot, "Cute. Cutie pie, cutie bean, cute as a button, cutest little cutie, cutie-cutie cute—"

"I will actually roast you, you big dumb bird—"

As Marco continues on, seemingly unaffected by his insult, it didn't escape Ace's attention that an unpleasant twitch appeared on his brow at the word 'bird'. His smile slipped away just a fraction, gaining an annoyed tinge to it. Got him, the giant asshole. After this entire fucking night, he finally got him, "Cute little kitten, cute angry baby, cute grumpy pants—"

"Dumb turkey, dumb chicken, oversized goose, giant-ass parrot, piece-of-wings-on-my-plate-chicken—"

"—Cutie face, angel face, little cute snuggle bunny, cutie bug, cute piece of cupcake—"

"—stupid pigeon, nerd toucan, so fucking nerdy your Phoenix literally got glasses on, you absolute nerd—"

"—Those are the Phoenix's body patterns and I didn't choose to have those, Mr. Fire Angel,"

Ace gasped in outrage. Oh, he had gone too far now, "You did not just not use my dad's stupid nickname, only he gets to call me those dumb names, you pineapple-headed-walking-roast-duck—"

The rest of Ace's insult - and Marco's retaliation, judging by the offended way his eyebrows went up - was abruptly interrupted by the shrill screech coming close by. A flash of red and flapping noises were the first thing that Ace noticed, as Marko suddenly flew off from her perch on the bedside drawer and landed on his shoulder, chirping incessantly, "Marko, what—"

He didn't have time to finish his sentence, when he caught sight of the slightly ajar door, and widened his eyes.

Standing behind the half open wooden door was the old man from the park, only half illuminated by the moonlight that peers into the room, gaining an eerie shadow that almost made him miss his presence.

Bewildered, Ace could only gasp at the sight of him. How? Didn't Marco say that this place is hard to access? How can an elderly using a cane get here? "Old man?"

The mysterious man only smiled when he finally sees that Ace notices him, and without another word, he suddenly turned around, disappearing from the door where only a faint clicking of his cane could be heard echoing outside. The trail of his robe barely passed behind the door when Ace was already rushing over to him, ignoring the sound of Marko's loud tweets from his shoulder, or Marco's voice calling out, "Old man? What are you— Ace, wait!"

Ignoring the older pirate, Ace raced towards the door, and was startled when he couldn't see a single person back on the hallway. He ignited his arm on fire to light up the dark, but there was still nothing, "How the hell…," the raven haired man muttered in confusion, glancing around the hallway. There truly is no trace of someone being here. But he saw the man, didn't he? He was just there, standing by the door.

"Ace," he heard his name being called again, turning to find Marco frowning down at him, "What happened?"

"I just saw—" he began, and didn't quite finish again when he once again caught sight of it: There's a standing figure at the end of the hallway, a familiar silhouette standing in the middle of the torn, dirty carpet lining the floor. The figure of the old man, unmistakable by the cane on his side, that began to walk away again the second Ace's eyes landed on him. He's heading towards the throne room, Ace briefly noted, and without another word, he ran.

"Ace, wait— Oh, goddamn impatient kids,"

* * *

The old man has disappeared again by the time Ace reached the end of the hallway, coughing his lungs out from the amount of dust he couldn't be bothered to shield himself from and wiping his eyes fervently, making his sight blur, "Where could he be?" he whispered to himself, eyes darting from every corner he could see, before his eyes fell on the sight of the large arching door to the throne room.

He was about to take a step over when he felt a light smack on his cheek and found Marko flying ahead of him, still tweeting and chirping as she flew to the throne room. The logia frowned, she had been oddly excited the first time they entered there as well, was there something she caught that he didn't? With that in mind, Ace ran back to the throne room, pushing the heavy door open with his non-flaming hand.

But again, he couldn't find a single trace of the old man. Marko was now back on the throne's armrest, specifically to smaller one on the left: The princess' throne.

"Where is he?" He may have spent his life growing up around powerful men even to their twilight years, but Ace was sure that not even his dad or Rayleigh can cross the distance between the room they were in and the end to the hall that fast. Or being able to disappear that quickly. Maybe that old man was a Devil Fruit user? How did he get here in the first place? He said before he was also looking for the treasure, did he followed him and Marco up here—

"Young man," a croaky voice called out, echoing in the silence of the night, almost startling Ace. He followed the source of the voice and there the old man was again, this time standing right behind the elevated floor that held the thrones, right under the entrance to the balcony. The man smiled, his wrinkled eyes forming a half-moon shape at Ace's bewildered look, "I got something to show you, right here," he said enigmatically, before stepping outside, disappearing behind the throne.

Now irritated, Ace jogged over, giving Marko a single glance to make sure she was still where she was before, "Old man, will you tell me what's going on? How did you get here? Did you follow us— Huh?"

But once again, there was no one on the balcony, not a single trace of someone being there aside from him, "The hell?" There's a quiver of uncertainty in the logia's voice now, as he step further on the balcony. There is no way he can just disappear like that. There's only a couple of seconds difference before Ace caught up with him. Maybe he really is a Devil Fruit user, something that allows him to teleport or something.

A shiver went down his spine, as he took a step closer to the railing once more, glancing down to the vast darkness underneath, and felt the eeriness from before persisting at the sight of it. Could the old man had jumped down there? Ace tentatively placed his hands on the stone rails, tip-toeing slightly to get a better look. It so high from up here that e could barely make out anything, maybe he really has some teleporting Devil Fruit—

Suddenly, there's a tight grip on his arm, one that made him gasp in shock. Wrinkled hands held tightly onto his wrist, and the sight of the old man's grinning face, dangling down from beyond the balcony, made Ace's blood run cold.

"Come on, boy," the man said again, grinning, "Let me show you something,"

The hands pulled him down, and before Ace knew it, he was falling, his scream tainting the night air.

* * *

 _"Children, get down from there right this instance!"_

Little childish giggles died down to be replaced by a chorus of disappointed boos, and the only adult laughter in the midst of it turned into a scared squeak and a whispered curse. The same stern scolding voice gasped in outrage, "You watch your mouth around the kids, Red-Haired Shanks, or i will have you eating soap for dinner tonight!"

"Oh come on, Captain, they're having fun," Shanks said sheepishly, raising both hands as if it would defend him from the wrath of panicked father Gol. D. Roger, "It's just climbing up the wall ropes, they'll be fine, everyone does that, it's a good training for them,"

"Yeah, Roger," 10 years old Sabo added, letting go of one hand that was holding on to the ropes leading up to the crow's nest. The sight of it made Roger gasp in horror, calling out to his adopted son in all but official papers in alarm to hold on, "We've done this a lot of time and Shanks is looking after us. We'll be fine,"

"Well, you can all bet that this is the last time Shanks will be responsible on watching you three," the red haired commander squawked indignantly over his revoked rights, which was promptly ignored by his captain, "Get down here now! You're not climbing the tallest mast on this ship until you're at least 20!"

This time, it was Luffy's turn to be upset, "Whaaat, that's like an eternity! Come on, Roger, we're so close to the top and it's really easy to do this! We're not going to fall! Look, Ace could even do it without the ropes!"

"What do you mean Ace could do it without the rope— _Oh my deep blue seas,_ _Ace! My little precious cauliflower, please stop right where you are!"_

Climbing up the crow's nest had become the trio of children's favorite past time, one that developed into a friendly competition between the three of them once they could all get the hang of it. Today's climbing was yet another one of those friendly competition, or it would've been yet another one, if Sabo hadn't beaten Ace on reaching the top first the day before for the 6th time in a row. Today, the boy was determined on winning, even if he couldn't beat his brother in speed. No, Ace is going to win by performance. He doesn't need some ropes to help him climb, he's going to do what not even the adults in the ship could: He's going to climb the mast.

And for all of Sabo's warning on how it would be more difficult than using the ropes, Ace hadn't felt it once. There was no difference between climbing the wooden structure compared to the trees back in Foosha. Well, except that the trees were easier to find some stepping ground on while the mast only has the occasional row of rope to get his footing on, but the fact that he's been doing great so far proves his superiority.

Or, at least, he would've if the sudden yell of his name didn't startle him out of his concentration, and suddenly his footing wasn't there anymore. In fact, the mast he was tightly holding on to suddenly disappear from his hold. In a split second, there was a sudden lurch in Ace's stomach, and all he could see in front of him was the wide blue sky on top of him, and the wind underneath his tiny back.

It finally registered into Ace's mind that he's falling, fast and hard.

The fall feels never ending, his head felt cold in revelation and his small body was frozen in fear as the sky above continues to become further and further away. He's falling. He's falling and there's nothing to hold on to, and he's falling, probably to his death, right in front of his brothers, and he could hear them calling for his name in panic, and there's just nothing below him, he's going to die—

But he didn't.

The cold hard land never came, instead he landed softly, stopping safely, _alive_. His view shifted into deep red and black, his little shivering body held tightly in what he now recognize to be a pair of familiar strong arms. Wordlessly, Ace found his father's face looking down at him, mouth pulled into a grim and worried line as. The man repeatedly chanted, "It's okay, i got you. I got you, Ace, my boy, i got you. You're okay,"

He couldn't say anything in reply, still gripped in shock. For the fall, for that fact that he's back on the ground, the ship's floor safe underneath his feet.

It didn't really last long, the shock sort of melted away when Luffy and Sabo climbed down and began to crowd him, asking if he's okay, while Roger started berating Shanks - and Yasopp, who was up on the crows nest, preparing to pick them up once they arrived and was thus an accomplice - and punishing him with a month worth of toilet duty with a toothbrush and with threats of demotion.

It disappears completely into reluctance and sulking when Roger grounded them later that night, and especially punishing him with no play time for the next 3 days while his brothers only got a shorter version of it. Though, he couldn't sulk for long, when Roger dismissed Sabo and Luffy away to their bedroom, he pulled Ace aside, and with a relieved sigh pulled him into a deep hug, "I was so worried, Ace. Please, don't ever do that to me again,"

A twinge of guilt appear in the boy's chest, hearing the depth of concern in his father's voice, "I'm sorry," he murmured quietly. A sigh came again from the older Gol, as Roger placed a hand on his head, ruffling his hair affectionately, "Thanks for catching me, Dad,"

"There's no need for that, Ace. Of course i will catch you, you can count on me for that," Roger smiled, gentle, fatherly, and it was a sight that Ace relish in, on these little moments where nothing exist beyond the two of them, just him and his father, "If anyone truly loves you, of course they will always be there to catch you,"

* * *

He had expected to slam into the cold, hard ground that the moment he felt impact, it took Ace a while to realize that whatever it is he had fallen to was soft and warm. Grey orbs scanned the expanse of blue seemingly enveloping him, his senses registering the wisp of flame that tickles his skin and slowly, shakily, Ace lifted himself with his upper arm, to find himself staring at the face of Marco's Phoenix form.

Behind him, it was as if the world itself was shifting, the sturdy body underneath him making it feel like they were the ones standing still. Ace was lost within the sight of blue eyes so clear it was reflecting his own image, feeling the Phoenix's healing flame sending shivers down his spine the way not even the cool daybreak air could.

They were still falling, their momentum slowing with every powerful flap of the giant wings that folded around him like a protective shield. And yet he barely noticed it, just as he barely noticed his hammering heart slowly calming down, when it finally registers to him that he was _safe._

One of Ace's hand curled around the fistful of blue fire. With mouth agape, the first thing he could utter was a shuddering gasp.

Marco, still intently watching him, didn't speak. Yet there was something within those eyes Ace couldn't look away from, something that speaks of relief, and it spoke more to him than any word in the world could possibly do.

The two, man and bird, continues to fall, rapidly approaching the ground.

(Somewhere deep in them, something shifted, falling along with them, quicker than their descend towards the earth)

* * *

 **I mean, we gotta go somewhere at some point.**

 **Also, my current favorite headcanon/plot/detail that i will try to wove in as much as i can: Ace has a praise kink. Like, actual praise, praise. Not his dad's babying kind of praise.**

 **Tell me what you think? Too rushed? I mean, that's always one thing i'm afraid of with my fics, too rushed or too slow.**


End file.
